Introduction
Ballon d’Or 2019 is of the most sought- after individual award in football. Some of the world’s finest footballers fight every season to get their hands on the prize. The last person to claim it was Luka Modric in the year 2018 after delivering some spectacular performances for his club and his country. Modric was a very important player, and he played a crucial role for Real Madrid as they won the Champions League again. He also went on to help Croatia reach the finals of the FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi has been in the news for quite a few reasons, both good and bad. This incredible player has fans all around the world rooting for him to win the Ballon d’Or 2019. This Argentine has been absolutely stunning this entire season for him the club, FC Barcelona, which has, in turn, brought them to the league title. But there is still a chance that Messi might just not win the award.
Despite Modric breaking the duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the array of individual awards, it is hard to talk about Ballon d’Or 2019 without these two legends. Messi and Ronaldo have always dominated world football over the last decade with their exceptional skill and ability. They have since then, gone on to win the award a record five times each. In the current season, Messi has been by far the most exceptional performer and remains a huge favourite to win the prize for a record 6th time.
This 31-year-old Argentine has consistently proven that he is better than any other player and taken the game to another level by displaying outstanding performances almost every other week. Thanks to Messi, Barcelona went on to grasp the league title with only a few games to be played, and Messi also went on to play a decisive role as the Catalan giants reached the finals of the Copa Del Rey.
The Argentine genius leads the race for European Golden Shoe with 34 goals and also leads the current Champions League scoring charts with a massive 12 goals.
Let us look at the top three reasons why Lionel Messi might not win the award Ballon d’Or 2019
#1 The difference in Playing for both his teams.
The Barcelona Lionel Messi does not share the same qualities as the Lionel Messi of Argentina. The Barcelona Messi has attained glory, but the Argentina Messi has made quite a few mistakes that have been detrimental to the fate of the team. So, this might cost a lot for the team.
Finally, after eight years Argentina has reached the final of Copa America in the year 2015. Messi and Co also found it very difficult to go past the group and the quarter-final stage towards the end. But, because of the big win in the semifinals put them up against Chile for the ultimate match. But unfortunately, the South American rivals beat them and held the great trophy through the penalties for the first time ever in the great history of the sport.
After a year or so, the exact scene repeated itself, with La Albiceleste getting defeated by the very same opponents. Messi did contribute to this by missing the first kick of the shootout. He failed Copa America bids, along with failing the World Cup bid in 2014. This put Lionel Messi under immense international scrutiny, so much so, that he sadly decided to retire from his national team.
Nevertheless, he has returned once again, to his international duties since and has unfortunately suffered another World Cup heartbreak. This adds to another Copa America failure. Hence, we might just see his grip from the Ballon d’Or 2019.
After the abysmal World Cup campaign, Messi took a break from featuring for his national team. His return to Argentina this year was marred with an uninspiring defeat against Venezuela and his injury. It is crystal clear that Argentina has not improved much and the Albacete won’t start as favourites in the upcoming Copa America tournament.
Whereas Messi won a plethora of trophies with Barcelona, a significant silver lining was the fact that his national team remains his kryptonite. The Blaugrana captain will have another chance to win something with his home team, Argentina, but evidently, the team’s chemistry is nothing like that of what Barcelona possesses.
It will be another uphill task for Messi to win the Copa America after consistent failures in the past. Another major failure with his national team will hamper his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or 2019.
We have all seen some impressive comebacks in the UEFA Champions League campaign this season. Arguably, the most shocking of them will be Barcelona’s 4-0 defeat against Liverpool in the semi-final return leg which helped the Reds qualify for the finals of the competition. For the second year in a row where the Catalan giants have failed to keep a three-goal lead in the Champions League knockout stages.
Barcelona led by Messi is still on course for a domestic double after having already secured the league title. But we have seen in the past few years that local success is not enough for players to win the Ballon d’Or 2019. On the other hand, the victory in the Champions League is necessary.
#2 His chances of winning the Champions League
The Champions League plays a significant role in deciding the Ballon d’Or 2019 winner. In fact, the winners of the award in the last five years had won the Champions League with their respective clubs. Another catastrophic failure at the Champions League this campaign will obviously have an effect and hinder Messi’s chances of lifting the 6th Ballon d’Or 2019.
The troubles he faced during the Champions League
Real Madrid won the Champions League in the years 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. The Ballon d’Or for all those years went in the same order too, to a Galactico and to Cristiano Ronaldo who won it in 2014, 2016, and 2017 along with Luka Modric winning it and lifting the award in the recent championship in 2018. Barcelona coincidently won the Champions League in the year 2015, and Lionel Messi was named the best player in the world the very same year.
And so, it is proved that the Champions League definitely equals the Ballon d’Or 2019. But sadly, for Lionel Messi, he lost his chance of lifting the top European prize just recently.
Coming to Argentina, the teams forward has been in brilliant condition and has continued to play their best and is in excellent condition. They are currently leading the top scorer chart.
Messi was, once again, at his best when Barcelona finally beat Liverpool in the semifinals first-leg, therefore winning by a three-nil scoreline. But then, what happened next shocked the entire football world. Liverpool had levelled the deficit, and they also went one better at their home ground, hence knocking Barcelona out of the competition.
If the Reds go all the way in the Champions League tournament, one surprising name will suddenly be handed a massive advantage in the race for the prestigious Ballon d’Or 2019.
#3 The rise of Virgil van Dijk
The rise of Virgil van Dijk and other competitors has been detrimental to the fact that Messi might not win the award this time.
Although Messi’s arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, remains a significant competitor for the award, there is so much competition from many stars this time around. The main threat to Lionel Messi’s quest for Ballon d’Or 2019 is Virgil van Dijk, but one cannot ignore the other talents like Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah, who are not far behind.
The Dutch centre-back won the PFA players’ player of the year, and it depicts how outstanding van Dijk has been for Liverpool this season. The Reds have secured just 22 goals in the Premier League campaign so far, which is the best defensive record in the current campaign. Van Dijk’s impact has been the critical factor for Liverpool, who are currently second in the league table and they are also in the final of the Champions League.
Despite suffering a three-match ban in the French top flight, Kylian Mbappe remains the best competitor to Lionel Messi in terms of statistics. Mbappe is second in the race for European Golden Shoe with 30 league goals, and he has already secured the League 1 title for PSG. Meanwhile, Salah has racked up 26 goals and 13 assists in all competition, and he will make an essential case for himself if Liverpool wins the Champions League or Premier League title.
