'Huge injustice' if Lionel Messi fails to win Ballon d'Or, says Carles Puyol

Former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol says it would be a "huge injustice" if Lionel Messi did not win the Ballon d'Or.

Messi is aiming to claim a fifth Ballon d'Or when the award is handed out in Zurich on Monday evening, live on Sky Sports, but faces competition from Barca team-mate Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is hoping to win a third straight Ballon d'Or, while Neymar is the joint-top scorer in La Liga so far this season with 15 goals in 16 appearances, but Puyol insists there is only one candidate for the world's best player in 2015.

"You never know what might end up happening, but it would be a surprise and a huge injustice if Messi was not to win the Ballon d'Or ," Puyol told Barcelona's official website.

"The best thing about him is that he keeps on improving and building up his numbers. Now he is a more complete player and it seems that there is no limit to what he can do."

Puyol played alongside Messi for 10 seasons at the Nou Camp before announcing his retirement in 2014 and says even a fifth Ballon d'Or would not do the 28-year-old justice.

"It will be hard for any other player in the future to win five Ballon d'Ors, and Messi is not going to retire tomorrow so even if he wins [his fifth title] on Monday he can even add more to his name.

"Even five Ballons d'Or won't really do justice to him."