Barring a huge surprise, Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d'Or for a fifth time on Monday. The Argentine has missed out on the honour to Cristiano Ronaldo in the last two years, but is now preparing to reclaim his prize - and it could be his for the foreseeable future.
Between the two of them, Messi and Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'0r for the past seven years: Leo in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012; Cristiano in 2008, 2013 and 2014.
And in his winning speech in Switzerland a year ago, the Portuguese attacker said he was keen to catch Messi and also go down as the finest footballer in the history of the game.
However, 2015 was very much Messi's year and not Ronaldo's. The Argentine was watching on as his Real Madrid rival uttered those words and whether or not they served as added motivation for the Barca forward is unclear, but the truth is he has hardly looked back since.
Messi led Barca to an unprecedented second treble in 2015, having already achieved the feat with the Catalan club in 2008-09. And now, as then, he was the main man, popping up with vital goals when it mattered most, such as the two stunning strikes in the Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Bayern Munich and another in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou.
The latter was so special that it means Messi is nominated for the Puskas prize on Monday as well - and he is the big favourite to win the award for the year's greatest goal. That, however, is likely to be just the appetiser for the main dish coming up later on: his fifth Ballon d'Or.
"All we can do is enjoy what Messi does because what he is doing is not normal," the Argentine's former Barca team-mate Thierry Henry said last week. "I think it would be madness if he does not win the Ballon d'Or. He deserves it because the team won another treble."essi led Barca to an unprecedented second treble in 2015, having already achieved the feat with the Catalan club in 2008-09. And now, as then, he was the main man, popping up with vital goals when it mattered most, such as the two stunning strikes in the Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Bayern Munich and another in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou.
The latter was so special that it means Messi is nominated for the Puskas prize on Monday as well - and he is the big favourite to win the award for the year's greatest goal. That, however, is likely to be just the appetiser for the main dish coming up later on: his fifth Ballon d'Or.
"All we can do is enjoy what Messi does because what he is doing is not normal," the Argentine's former Barca team-mate Thierry Henry said last week. "I think it would be madness if he does not win the Ballon d'Or. He deserves it because the team won another treble."
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