4 things Lionel Messi needs to do in 2020 to win the Ballon d'Or this December

#3 Win the Champions League for the first time since 2015

Barcelona v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Semi-Final: First Leg

Winning the UEFA Champions League is one of the biggest achievements of the season for any club and player. It is no wonder, then, that success at the elite pan-European competition is given a lot of weightage by the selection committee of the Ballon d'Or.

Messi has won the competition with Barcelona four times: in 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11 and 2014–15. Interestingly, he ended up winning the Ballon d'Or on three of the four occasions. However, it should be noted that in the 2008-09 and 2014-15 seasons, he also won the treble with the Catalan giants.

His perceived rival, Ronaldo, was recognized with the honour in 2016 and 2017 when he helped Real Madrid become the first team to retain the title twice, while his former teammate Luka Modric was awarded the trophy in 2018 for his role in their journey to a hat-trick of trophies as well as his performances at the FIFA World Cup in the same year.

Messi has faced disappointment in the competition since 2015, with Barcelona having been knocked out in the quarter-finals three times before getting eliminated by eventual champions Liverpool from the semi-finals last season.

All the available data appear to suggest that if he is to retain the Ballon d'Or for the first time since 2012, winning the Champions League will be one of the top things that could steer him to the objective.

With a possibility of a treble out of the picture following the Catalans' elimination from the Copa del Rey earlier this month, winning the continental competition becomes much more crucial for Messi to retain the Ballon d'Or.

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