8. Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Spanish LaLiga (x2)
12 goals - 24 points
If this list had been made last week, Lionel Messi would not have been in the top 25. If it had been made two weeks ago, he would not have been in the top 40 but his greatness means that he can turn things around in an instant and his latest heroics means that he finds himself 8th in the race for the 2020 European Golden Shoe.
The Argentine international is the record winner of this award, having finished as the top scorer in Europe on six occasions and he looks on course to win his seventh overall and third consecutively come the end of the season.
Messi won a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or and followed that up by scoring his 53rd career hat-trick against RCD Mallorca to push him up to 12 goals and five assists in the league this season and if the 32-year-old can remain injury-free, there could be no stopping him or Barcelona this term.