5 reasons why Lionel Messi could win the Ballon d'Or in 2019

#2 He seems determined to return the UCL to Camp Nou

Barcelona have not won the UCL since 2015

Barcelona have not made it past the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League since 2015, as they have fallen to Atletico Madrid, Juventus and perhaps most shockingly of all, AS Roma at the final eight stage of the competition.

To make matters worse, the Blaugrana have had to watch on as eternal rivals Real Madrid lifted each of those three Champions Leagues consecutively, with the Catalans having to settle for domestic dominance.

As stated earlier, Messi is without a UCL quarterfinal goal since 2013, so it, therefore, comes as no surprise to see that they have made it to the last four just once since then, as whenever Messi scores, Barca tend to win matches.

A key component to triumphing in the Ballon d’Or is Champions League performance, and Lionel Messi knows this all too well, as despite being superior to Ronaldo in terms of La Liga performance, his Portuguese rival has trumped him to the individual accolades simply because he has performed better on the continent.

Barcelona is currently on a three year UCL drought, and this is an anomaly considering the tradition of the club, with Messi stating as much during his first press conference as Barcelona’s new skipper following Iniesta’s departure.

Messi said that is is his mission to bring the UCL back to the Nou Camp, and his actions since then suggest that he has set about achieving his goal.

He scored six goals from just three and half matches on the continent in the group stage (including a hat-trick in the opening day against PSV in Eindhoven), as well as laying on an assist for Ousmane Dembele.

Messi scored in each of his three UCL starts in the group stage, and if he is to keep up with this rate, it is hard to stop him from lifting the ‘Big Ears’ come May next year at the Wanda Metropolitano, and this would undoubtedly aid in his quest for a record sixth Ballon d’Or conquest.