Gifted Dutchman continues to be the bookies' choice...

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Wesley Sneijder remains the bookies' favourite to scoop the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or, with Xavi Hernandez his biggest threat for the prize.Inter Milan's treble winner has seen his odds stretch from even money () out to, while Barcelona's Xavi has shifted fromtoGolden Ball winner Diego Forlan has been attracting interest not only from Juventus but from punters for the FIFA Ballon d'Or. The striker's odds have been cut fromtoin the space of a week.Current holder Lionel Messi was superb value last week atand remains so atafter an outstanding league season with Barcelona. Barca team-mate Andres Iniesta is another contender at shorter odds ofout fromone week ago. Meanwhile David Villa has gone fromright down toafter a flurry of bets on the forward.Spanish captain Iker Casillas has been a big mover with his odds slashed fromto. Real Madrid's shot stopper is considered to be a decent long term bet bytrader Nikolaos Tsagkatakis, who says it isn't a done deal just yet for Wesley Sneijder."This year's competition is very tight and it won't be a runaway situation like Messi last year when he won with a record difference from the runner up," Tsagkatakis says."Punters should be looking at players like Sneijder who had an outstanding domestic season with Inter and played well in the World Cup."Diego Forlan had a great year winning the Golden Ball award and helped Atletico to the Europa League. Don't rule out someone like Iker Casillas, who has generated a lot of publicity recently, or one of his Spanish team-mates like David Villa or Xavi. Any player that played in the victorious Spanish team will be in with a decent shout."Recent history suggests the winner will likely come from the World Cup winners. Former Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro triumped in 2006, Brazil's Ronaldo in 2002 and Zinedine Zidane in 1998.Treble winning Sneijder is still in pole position for the newly renamed FIFA Ballon d'Or which will be awarded next January in Zurich.Dutch editor Wout Stravers believes the accolade would be richly deserved for the gifted player who was deemed surplus to requirements by Real Madrid 12 months ago:"The past season was the revenge of Wesley Sneijder. Kicked out by Florentino Perez after a year where he couldn't perform he moved to Inter and everything changed. There were some doubters - including myself - but he answered all the critics with (both) his feet. Helped by the genius of Jose Mourinho he became one of the most versatile and decisive midfielders in world football. The FIFA Ballon d'Or would be a big but a realistic reward."Sneijder was coy when quizzed on the subject when asked before he got married over the weekend."The Ballon D'Or? In this moment I don't even want to think about it," he was quoted as saying.