MESSI DESERVERS FOUR

Barcelona midfielder Isaac Cuenca has said that Argentine superstar player Lionel Messi has proved this season that he deserves the fourth straight Ballon d'Or award.

Lionel Messi has already won the Ballon d'Or three times in succession. It is a feat that has been matched only by the likes of Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and a few others.

Just when it seemed that Lionel Messi would once again proved that he is by far the best in the Champions League this season, he failed miserably in the two matches against Chelsea in the semi-final. As a result, Barcelona have failed in their objective to become the first club to win the Champions League in successive occasions.

However, he has proved that he is once again the best in the world by scoring 72 goals in all competitions for Barcelona this season. Isaac Cuenca, who is beginning to establish himself as one of the first-team regulars at Barcelona under manager Guardiola, has said that Lionel Messi's record of having scored more goals than anyone else in the game of football in a single season alone deserves a lot of praise. Cuenca has even suggested that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi should receive the Ballon d'Or award for the fourth consecutive year.

"He is undoubtedly the best and deserves another Ballon d'Or. Leo helps us younger players, he tries to correct us and encourages us. In footballing terms, I always keep an eye on him [Pedro] because we play in the same position and because he also came out of the youth system. Tito’s arrival is a bonus for everybody, especially in order for Barça to continue with their model. But he hasn’t said anything yet, neither to the veterans or the youngsters," said Cuenca about Lionel Messi and the arrival of new manager Tito Vilanova.

MESSI NAMED WORLD PLAYER OF YEAR

It is tough to argue beyond the fact that Lionel Messi is the best in the world and this is a statement that Barcelona defender Gerard Pique fully agrees with.

Lionel Messi recently lifted the third Ballon d'Or award of his career, beating the likes of Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the way. Even though Cristiano Ronaldo slightly edged out Lionel Messi in terms of the number of goals scored, the Argentine clawed back the advantage in terms of the number of assists.

Further, Lionel Messi was also important in Barcelona's second Champions League victory in three seasons, whereas Ronaldo was able to lift only the Spanish cup with Real Madrid.

As a result, Lionel Messi won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award with almost 50 percentage of the votes compared to the other two contenders. Even though Xavi was highly influential for Barcelona, the flair and skill provided by Lionel Messi has helped him along the way. Now, defender Gerard Pique has said that the decision to choose Lionel Messi is the winner of the Ballon d'Or award is the right one. According to him, Lionel Messi has been the undisputed best player in the world over the past year and continues to be so.

"It is clear, Messi, he has been playing at a high level for years. And Leo is the best in the world. He is driving this team to be one of the best in history. Thanks to him we have won many of the titles that we have in our [cabinet]. We just have to hope that he maintains this level for as long as possible," Pique was quoted as saying by La Vanguardia. Lionel Messi is also nominated in the goal of the award along with Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Santos player Neymar.