The popularity contest Ballon d'Or has been won by Lionel Messi

Messi is the Ballon d'Or winner for the sixth time beating Liverpool Van Dijk and Juventus Cristiano Ronaldo to the award.

It has been a decent year for the Argentine. The La Liga is the only major trophy he won and he got goals to back up his claim. It's clear, score goals and continue scoring. It doesn't matter if your team are shit in the UCL or can't win the Copa del Rey, just score the goals and make sure your name starts with Messi. You will definitely get the award.

Liverpool had their best year in decades. They had a very solid defense marshalled by Van Dijk with a deadly trio in attack. They came close to win the premier league if not for Manchester city brilliance. They missed out in the Premier League but got compensated with the Champions league. They deserved the UCL especially after the remarkable comeback against Barcelona.

Shit happens though. Sneijder got snubbed for the award before, Modric stealing it from Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi stealing it from Van Dijk.

Football is predictable nowadays. It's all about the money and the endorsements. No one wants to go broke. Are you going to sign the deal and he wins?

That's the world we live in now. Van Dijk is my Ballon d'Or winner... The rest can disappear like one Midget did at Anfield.