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Lionel Messi recently completed his first full game back with Barcelona – a mid-week Champions League encounter against Roma – and did so style.
In his nonchalant fashion, Messi scored two goals and piled on an assist in his side’s 6-1 demolition, moving Barcelona at the top of their group, and in doing so throwing away any concerns about the knee injury that has kept him out of the game for two months.
Messi is back, and we look toward the Ballon d’Or, which is presented to the best player in the previous calendar year, in January.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the award last year, but can he back it up and win his fourth award for the best player in the world? Currently he sits fourth on the list of top goal-scorers – with eight, and a total of five in the Champions League – in what has been a pretty disappointing couple of months. Ronaldo had the chance to really put himself up for the Ballon d’Or when Messi’s injury occurred, but while the Portuguese star didn’t capitalise, still expect to see him in the top three.
The Barcelona pairing of Luis Suarez and Neymar are in serious competition for second and third place, and Barcelona could clean-sweep the award as they did in 2010, with Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Their pairing would have to be the most dangerous in the world right now, and they are sitting pretty on top of La Liga’s goal-scorers list, Neymar has scored 12, and Suarez 11 – not including his five in the Champions League. They also have seven assists between them, so look out for these guys if they keep up this sort of form.
Talking of the best players right now, Jamie Vardy has scored 10 goals in 10 consecutive games, last week beating Machester United’s champion striker Ruud van Nistlerooy’s record. With 13 goals this season, the Leicester City man is well on his way to a permanent England call-up – a fantastic story for someone who three years ago was playing football at a local league club.
Robert Lewandowski anyone? This guy has really lived up to his transfer from Dortmund, scoring 14 goals for Bayern Munich. Another player with five goals in the Champions League, the Pole has been absolutely clinical in front of the goals, and he could have another 10 goals if Arjen Robben would start passing the ball, but not sure what you expect from Robben.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another Bundesliga player who is on fire, scoring 15 goals for Dortmund and amazingly seven in the Europa League. He has been on an incredible run of form this season and if he keeps it up then the sky is the limit.
With some serious players in the mix for the Ballon d’Or this year, I’m predicting Messi to take it out, with Ronaldo second, and Suarez or Neymar third.
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