Lionel Messi has now won the Ballon d'Or five times in his career, adding to his record-breaking total.

While Messi will undoubtedly be seen as one of the favorites moving forward, it is possible that the superstar may he spot superseded in 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo has been his bitter rival for years in this competition, but Ronaldo looks like his precipitous decline could come to take him down rather quickly, making room for other major competitors.

Here are the top contenders for next year's Ballon d'Or, one year away from the awards ceremony.

Lionel Messi

Let's just get this out of the way. Messi is going to be 29 when the trophy comes around next year and there is no doubt that he is still in the full prime of his career. Moreover, he has shown no signs of slowing down, opening 2016 with a five goals and two assists across seven games.

Barcelona looks terrific at this point in the year, if not better than it did a season ago when it won a treble and Messi was playing his most dynamic soccer. He has no summer tournament (unless he plays the Copa America in the US), meaning that he will get much needed rest over the summer and should be ready to get going at the start of 2016-17. He started slow this season, but that could be pinned down to a lack of rest for him and his teammates.

If Messi continues his current level of play and gets the much needed support, then there is no reason to believe that he could not win his sixth trophy.

Neymar

The Brazilian hit 40 goals a year ago and looks primed to repeat the feat. With Messi out for part of the season, Neymar was the man to guide Barcelona to its peak, scoring one goal after another, while also playing the role of the setup man. His 15 goals and seven assists through 16 games are tremendous without any doubt and the superstar looks set to finish the year around 33 goals, making him a favorite to win the Pichichi award this season.

Moreover, Neymar has shown an ability to be selfless, giving Messi and Luis Suarez ample space with which to score their goals and allow Barcelona to flourish.

Neymar has also been terrific for Brazil when given a chance to shine, and he will undoubtedly play a key role in the team's qualifying games. Put frankly, he is Brazil and without him the team lacks the creative edge in attack that he provides.

Gareth Bale

The Welshman has finally found his stride and his playing arguably the best soccer of his career for Real Madrid. Moreover, he led the Welsh to the Euro Cup, where he will get a chance to prove his worth in a relatively easy group.

At this point, Bale is a more instrumental player to Real Madrid than Ronaldo and has proven thus by scoring in bucketloads over the last few weeks; Ronaldo has meanwhile failed to showcase any sort of consistent form on the attack or in creative areas.

Bale has 12 goals in La Liga this season, which is just three off from his best for Los Blancos back in 2013-14. He scored 21 goals that season, but on current form should be able to blow that number away. Bale is currently looking at a 30-goal season if he can keep things up. While that is nowhere near as dynamic as Ronaldo's output, it may prove huge if he can score in big games the way he did in his debut year for Los Blancos.

Cristiano Ronaldo?

He may be exiting his prime, but even on poor form, Ronaldo has managed a whopping 25 goals in 25 games for Madrid, keeping his goal-per-game pace. He still managed close to 60 goals in 2015 despite a lackluster finish to the year.

What matters most here however is that Ronaldo has looked better under Zinedine Zidane. The small sample size is crucial, but everyone could see how much the Portuguese star struggled under Rafa Benitez and the team's anemic offense.

If Ronaldo can continue to be as involved in attack for the balance of the season and can get back to consistent goalscoring, then it is possible that he finds himself scoring another 50 goals in 2016. If Madrid wins some trophies along the way, then Ronaldo could be in the conversation once more come next winter.