Robin van Persie - The man to end Messi's run

Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player ever, has had more success when compared to anyone else in the present era. When you talk about his competitors, we like to mention Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by Andres Iniesta, Xavi and then the others. Players get more titles for their club sometimes, and still we find Messi earning the biggest individual award – the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo helped the Los Blancos capture the Spanish title from the Catalans last year, and even assisted them to a semi final berth in the Champions League. The Portuguese also helped his national side reach the semi finals of EURO 2012. Then what stopped him from getting the coveted title in Zurich?

Goals, records, assists, new records!

Lionel Messi surpassed Gerd Muller’s 40-year old record of 85 goals in a calendar year. He scored as many as 91 goals in the year 2012, which included 12 national goals (Most by anyone in the year). Ronaldo got more trophies for side, and Messi assisted Barcelona to win the Copa Del Rey. Critics may say that Ronaldo or Iniesta brought more glory to their sides than Lionel Messi did, but the world knows that someone who keeps on scoring goals and breaking new records would simply be the best!! As a result, the 25-year old collected his 4th straight Ballon d’Or – the only one to do so till date. With Barcelona having a 16 point lead over Ronaldo’s Madrid, and Messi scoring 39 goals already this season, both Barcelona and Messi look hot favourites to capture the top awards. So can someone stop this wizard from Argentina??

Robin van Persie

The Dutchman, who is currently the top scorer in the Premier League and has helped Manchester United to the top of the table, is undoubtedly my pick. Manchester United look like favourites to win the Barclays Premier League this year, and van Persie is expected to finish as their top scorer. If United can get past Real Madrid in the Champions League and continue to haunt Europe’s elite, we might see United winning a double! In that case, if Messi wins La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, and RVP with United wins the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, then quite frankly it has to be RVP to be the favourite to come out first in this battle.

Manchester United produced the last Ballon d’Or winner before Messi. It was way back in 2008 when United’s Cristiano Ronaldo won the coveted prize, leaving Lionel Messi in 2nd place. He led United to both the domestic title and the European Cup in Moscow, where rivals Chelsea lost on penalties. When you look for Ballon d’Or winners, you pick the best player from the top sides who attain glory in the concerned year. Robin van Persie is a big player, and the club that he plays for is even bigger – only Barcelona and Madrid can be considered bigger or close to the Red Devils.

So brace yourself for the 2013 Ballon d’Or, where you might see RVP claiming the top individual award that FIFA has to offer every year.