I know what you mean, but if it is of any help, Snejder won the treble in 2010, reached the world cup final with his NT and lost to Messi. And Iniesta did all the things you mentioned for Spain and Barca last year and lost to Messi and finished even behind Ronaldo, despite getting the UFA best player award. I think it would take Ribery, and any player really, more to beat Messi, simply because of sheer incredible number of votes he gets - perhaps if France had qualified directly and banished Spain to the play-offs, that would have been something. A few great performance games aren't really enough. Also, if you look at the numbers, the Messi adoration among the voters is so big that he doesn't really rely on Ribery performing badly; same goes for his ace performances when fit.
Edit: I actually think Neymar has a good chance of getting a good spot in the shortlist; he was 13th last year and now won the Confederations Cup beating Spain and has performed greatly for Barca. He probably won't make it to the final three, but I suspect a Top 10 placement.
