Lionel Messi’s excellent form in 2015, should see him win his 5th FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy. Picture Credit : London News

Barcelona are in with a chance of winning a treble this season and that is largely due to the influence and contribution from their talisman, Lionel Messi. The Argentine is arguably the greatest footballer of all-time and has been in terrific form this season, scoring 56 goals this far. But with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 61 goals, some might argue about who the front-runner for FIFA Ballon d’Or award is this season.

But I will point out a few factors, which will show why Messi is ahead of Ronaldo and why he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or award for 2015. I will start off with what I feel is one of the most important factors when comparing the two footballers this season, penalties.

While Ronaldo has scored 61 goals this season, 13 of those goals have come from the penalty spot. Compare that with Messi’s 6 goals from the penalty spot, then we have a totally different picture. If we take away the penalty goals, then that leaves Ronaldo with 48 goals and Messi with 50 goals. I feel that this is a very important factor that the Ballon d’Or adjudicators have to take into consideration.

Messi also beats Ronaldo on the assists tally with 27 assists, compared to Ronaldo’s 22. He has combined well with the likes of Luis Suarez and Neymar, with the trio scoring over a hundred goals for Barca this season.

Messi’s goals have also been more effective than Ronaldo’s goals. Messi’s goals have led Barcelona to a chance of clinching a treble, while Ronaldo’s goals could not prevent Real Madrid from losing out in La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. The importance of Messi’s goals is summed up with his vital strikes against Bayern Munich in the 1st leg of the Champions League semi-finals and when he scored the winning goal at Atletico Madrid, to secure the La Liga title for Barcelona.

The Ballon d’Or is an individual award but football is a team sport. Messi has had an unbelievable season individually but he has also helped his team to an unbelievable season. Ronaldo has had a great season in terms of his goal scoring but his team have not benefited from his contribution. Messi is a team man, while Ronaldo plays for himself.

In 2015, Messi leads the goal tally with 33 goals with Ronaldo on 29 goals. Messi also leads the goal assists tally with 18 compared to Ronaldo’s 10 assists. That makes Messi the front runner for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or award.

In my opinion, Lionel Messi deserves to win the 2015 Ballon d’Or award because of what he has done individually and how his individual efforts have contributed to a successful season for his team.