Ballon d'Or: 5 La Liga players that can compete with Messi and Ronaldo in the near future

#3 Isco (Real Madrid)

The twinkle-toed genius has the ability to win the Ballon d'Or

Like other players on this list, Francisco “Isco” Román Alarcón Suárez has been compared to a star player way before he became the star he is today. Isco has been compared to Nou Camp legend Andres Iniesta from his youth setup days at Valencia.

Close control, neat dribbling, chance creation and a decent scoring record have made Isco into one of the top midfielders but the journey hasn’t always been this smooth.

After his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013, Isco meet a team full of class and initially struggled to nail down a spot. After being underused by a succession of Real Madrid coaches; Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez and Zinedine Zidane (initially), the native Andalusian has embraced the challenge of playing for the world’s biggest club and is now one of the first names on the team sheet.

A firm fan favorite, Isco has everything in his locker to emulate the great No 10s in recent history like Alessandro Del Piero and Francesco Totti and even surpass these legends.

He has become a key player in the Spanish national team setup and will be looking to stake his claim to the seat of his idol, Messi by adding the Ballon d'Or award to the many he has already won.