5 reasons why Lionel Messi will win 2 more Ballon d’Or awards

I got a lot of heat for stating the 5 reasons why Lionel Messi could never win the Ballon d’Or again—and understandably so. After all, it is a blasphemy to state that the best player in the world would abruptly stop winning the best individual award in the world.

However, I never once stated that he will not win it. What I wanted to imply was that if he never wins it, it will be because of those reasons. But as a writer, I have to admit my inability to get the point across. Anyhow, this slider will depict my beliefs regarding the situation.

Right now, the Argentine has 5 Ballon d’Ors to his name. He is 30 now and is showing no signs of ageing. Keeping everything in mind, here are 5 reasons why he WILL definitely win two more Ballon d’Ors at the least…

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#5 He will age like wine

Pulp Fiction is one of my most favourite movies of all time. A particular line from the movie always plays within my mind. This line came from the mouth of Ving Rhames playing Marsellus Wallace. He claimed that the “business is filled to the brim with unrealistic mother******s—mother******s who think their a** would age like wine.

“If you mean it turns to vinegar,” he continues, “it does.”

“If you mean it gets better with age, it don’t.”

In the case of most people, the former would have been true. For the Argentine, however, the latter makes more sense. He is only 30 right now and has reached his optimum peak. He is not only scoring but making plays from midfield with relative ease and this is why he will age like wine; he is a…

#4 Supreme playmaker

Messi can pass like none other

This is what differentiates from the other goalscorers. Right now, people are beginning to see what he has been showing ever since he came to the scene. The thing is, they had a look at it before, but they were just so mesmerised by his brilliant dribbles and scoring prowess that they were blinded by it and failed to truly see his playmaking abilities.

For me, Messi was never really a goalscorer who could make plays. He is a playmaker that scores a lot of goals. It has always been that way. In the last decade, people have labelled a lot of players as the best playmaker in the world, starting from Andres Iniesta to Luka Modric.

But the truth is that Messi’s vision surpasses every other player in the world—and that pass in the Celta Vigo game is just one of the testaments.

Goalscorers have a limited timeframe. Messi himself realises that. As a result, he now plays deeper than he used to, which is why he has scored ‘only’ 25 goals from 30 games. Someone who is Lionel Messi and is in the form of his life should have more goals than games, but Messi is preserving himself for a prolonged career.

As a result, he is exploring his best asset—to make plays—and is getting the better out of the others around him. And midfielders last long… very long.

#3 Barca glory

More of these will get him more Ballon d'Ors

Barcelona thought that they could bully anyone into submitting to their demands. They tried it on Paris Saint-Germain over Marco Verratti. What happened in return only left Barcelona fuming and humiliated: Neymar’s release clause of €222 million was activated and the Brazilian voyaged to the shores of France.

At that point, Madrid had already completed a double and were looking stronger than ever. No one really thought that Barcelona could win anything for the next couple of years at least, which would also coincide with Messi’s best years.

However, they made one of the greatest comebacks with Ernesto Valverde at the helm. They are currently leading the league and are 19 points ahead of their arch-rivals Real Madrid. In the Champions League, they will face Chelsea with a reinforced defence as the very talented Yerry Mina was acquired a few days ago.

In the league, they will have Coutinho’s footballing abilities, which just consolidates their place as the favourites. And we are yet to see a fully-fit Ousmane Dembele ripping apart defences in Barca colours.

All of this with Messi in the middle. The future is bright for Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

#2 No one near him (yet)

Messi has no contemporaries as of now

This might be a little harsh on Neymar, but the truth is that the Argentine reigns supreme over the rest. Cristiano Ronaldo might be the defending Ballon d’Or winner, but he is far, far away from the player that helped Real Madrid win the Champions League last season.

The thing with Cristiano Ronaldo is that if one takes out his goalscoring abilities, he becomes a very limited player who offers very little to the team. In the case of Messi, as mentioned earlier, he can go on to not score anything in a game and yet be the match-deciding player.

Neymar, however, has a lot of skills. The only thing the Brazilian falls short is the temperament. He sits out of far too many important games due to niggles and whatnot. Also, the fact that he plays in Ligue 1 goes against his credentials as, truth be told, he is too good for the French league.

#1 He is Leo

Lionel Messi is nature

Now for the final point—and perhaps the most important one of them all. Lionel Messi is a phenomenon. Some say that he is a force of nature, but I don’t think that is accurate because Lionel Messi is the nature.

When Lionel Messi sets foot on a football pitch and plays alongside everyone else, you begin to realise something after a while. Every move that he makes, every chance that he creates, every goal that he scores… it’s just… nature.

On the pitch, Messi is the nature and what he does are forces of it. According to his will, the other players move around. And according to his desire, the changes happen. At times, the earth reminds us of her powers with natural disasters; Messi does that too when his raging tempest consumes the opponents.

You see, a player like that… it is very difficult to put a lid on. After all, one can only go as far as making shelters to save themselves from the wrath of nature. And even then, they’d have to pray for it to not breach them.

But Messi will breach his opponents, at least for a couple more years.