Ballon d'Or 2019: Top 10 Contenders for the Award at the start of May 2019

#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

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

The 5 time Ballon d'Or winner finished 5th in the Ballon d'Or rankings last year. He received just 280 votes, an unimaginable result. It was the first time since 2007 that Messi had finished outside the top three. The whole world was astonished with the declaration, but the 5th best player in the world responded in the only way known to him - on the field.

Messi was handed the armband at the start of the season and since then, has looked every bit a captain that Barcelona needed this season. He has inspired his team, he has led from the front and he has pulled them out of tight spots on a regular basis. He has mesmerized on the field and defied description at times. And all the while, he has made a mockery of the people who adjudged him to be the 5th best player in the world last year.

The Argentinean has scored 48 goals from 46 games in all competitions for Barcelona and has also registered 15 assists. He has helped Barcelona to the La Liga title and has also lifted them to the Copa Del Rey finals. And in the Champions league, he has been in inspiring form, scoring 12 goals from 9 games already and giving them a brilliant advantage going into the second leg of the semi finals against Liverpool.

Messi also looks set to win a record 6th La Liga Golden Boot and is currently the front runner for the European Golden Boot this season. As such, it is divine justice that Lionel Messi is the top contender for the Ballon d'Or 2019 at the start of May 2019.