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We are only a few weeks away from the 2019 Ballon d'Or awards gala which is scheduled to be held in December. Backed by French Magazine, France Football and presented to the most impressive player in the world every year, the Ballon d'Or has grown to become the most coveted individual award in the sport. Every top superstar dreams of winning it.
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi recently triumphed at the FIFA 'Best Awards' show, and he is also in contention to add the Ballon d'Or to his cabinet. However, he faces intense competition from his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, and also Liverpool's defensive powerhouse Virgil van Dijk.
Those two superstars have also made strong cases to be named the best footballer in the world this year. Nevertheless, Messi deserves to go home with his sixth Ballon d'Or award in December, and below are three reasons why:
#3 Unmatched individual exploits in the Champions League
While the 4-0 humiliation at Anfield dented Barcelona's Champions League hopes last season, it took nothing away from the fantastic year Messi enjoyed at the individual level during the tournament.
The Argentine was at the top of his game, producing a series of amazing performances as he drove Barca from the group stage down to the semifinals. He was arguably the most impressive player during the tournament - courtesy of his brilliant exploits in front of goal.
Messi finished on top of the goal-scoring chart with an impressive 12 goals to his name from 10 appearances. Ronaldo, on the other hand, could only find the back of the net six times for Juventus. While some might try to make a case for Van Dijk, the numbers suggest he wasn't at the same level as Messi.
The playmaker dominated the headlines for most of the campaign. Everyone remembers his man-of-the-match performances against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, PSV, Olympique Lyon and Manchester United, as well as the first leg of the semi-final tie with Liverpool.
Also check out:Champions League Schedule La Liga fixtures La Liga matches
#2 Incredible record at the domestic level
It was another record-breaking year for Messi in the Spanish league last season. The attacker stepped up once again to remind us all of his incredible class, as he put up a series of consistent displays to inspire Barcelona throughout the course of the competition.
Already the all-time scorer in LaLiga history, Messi stretched the record even further with his return of 36 goals and 15 assists from 34 appearances in the Spanish top flight. Thanks to his brilliant exploits, Barcelona were able to claim the league title for the second year in a row.
Even though Cristiano Ronaldo also tasted domestic success in Italy, his record of 21 goals and 8 assists in 31 Serie A games falls short of Messi's tally. On the other hand, Van Dijk lags behind in this category too, after failing to guide Liverpool to a triumph in the Premier League.
#1 Peerless dominance and consistency
Another factor that should give Lionel Messi the edge over Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk in the Ballon d'Or race this year is his incredible consistency and dominance. The Argentine was in a league of his own last season, producing extraordinary performances week in and week out throughout the campaign.
Messi finished with the highest number of man-of-the-match awards in the Champions League (7). He also did the same in the LaLiga (17). His return of 36 goals from 34 games earned him both the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe. He bagged the highest tally in the UEFA Champions League (12) as well.
The playmaker had the most goals (51) and most assists (22) across all competitions. No one could match his goal contribution (73) for the term.
Messi topped the LaLiga in almost all the key attacking stats including number of chances created, number of braces, number of highest hat-tricks and number of free-kick goals scored, to mention just a few.
There's simply no one who did as much as Messi this year. Hence, after being honored with FIFA's The Best Award last month, the Argentine deserves to also go home with the Ballon d'Or accolade in December to cap off his fantastic 2019.
