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We are slowly progressing towards the business end of another season European football. Most clubs will be looking to give their best and secure a major silverware if they are in a position to get one. The UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals draw is done as we look forward to another entertaining end to the campaign.
It goes without saying that last year was Luka Modric's year. The Golden Ball winner brought an end to the Ballon d'Or duopoly of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as he helped Croatia reach the World Cup Final and played a major role in Real Madrid's Champions League glory.
But it seems quite likely that we will see a more familiar face winning the award as Lionel Messi is enjoying another historic season. The Argentine failed to make the podium and ended up being the 5th best player in the world.
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However, since the start of the 2018/19 campaign, the Argentine genius has proved himself to be miles beyond anyone else with his exploits. Football remains unpredictable as ever but there is no doubt that if he continues his form, he will end up winning the most coveted individual trophy in the world.
Without further ado, let us evaluate three reasons why the Barcelona star is already ahead of anyone else in the race for Ballon d'Or.
Also see : Gold Cup Standings, Copa America Standings, EPL Transfer News
#1 Staggering statistics
The 31-year-old Argentine is the highest scorer in Europe with a massive 39 goals in all competitions already. Messi also leads the race for European Golden Boot, having scored more than anyone else in Europe's top five leagues.
He is the highest scorer of LaLiga with 29 goals and the joint highest scorer of Champions League with 8 goals, What is more amazing that he leads the charts in assists as well, 14 of them coming in the Spanish League.
Simply put, there is no one even close to matching Lionel Messi's staggering numbers this season. He is not only ahead but leading the race by a couple of miles in the current campaign so far.
#2 Profound Impact
To say that Lionel Messi's impact cannot be merely measured by statistics will be an understatement. He is leading the Blaugrana on the pitch by dictating the game and swaying the matches in Barcelona's favour whenever his team needs him the most.
Messi's recent exploits against Sevilla, Lyon and Real Betis in the last few weeks depicts his importance and impact in the squad. Last night, Barcelona were not dominating possession against Betis as they usually do but Messi's brilliance was enough to separate the two teams by a large margin.
The Argentine genius equalized twice in his hat-trick against Sevilla to finally give them the 4-2 win. In the Champions League 2nd leg against Lyon, Messi scored and provided assists in quick succession to kill the tie.
There are countless examples of his jaw-dropping brilliance over the season and his performances is a testament to the fact that his impact is matched by none in this season so far.
#3 No Competition
Over the last decade or so, the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated the individual awards. Both the greats has won five Ballon d'Ors each, among many other notable accolades throughout their glittering career.
But since Ronaldo's move to Serie A last summer, the Portuguese talisman is quite a few steps behind Messi. He is 10 goals behind Messi considering the exploits in respective leagues and 15 goals behind in all competition, scoring 24 goals for Juventus throughout the 2018/19 season as compared to Messi's 39 so far.
Ronaldo turned 34 this February - 3 years older than Messi - and being in a defensive league means he will get less goal scoring chances than the Barcelona talisman.
Kylian Mbappe remains the closest player to catch Messi with 25 goals in Ligue 1 but with PSG out of the Champions League so early, it is less likely that he will be able to match the 31-year-old Argentine.
