Reasons why Lionel Messi should win the Ballon d'Or this year

Lionel Messi is in the race to win the 2016 Ballon d'Or. Barcelona's Argentine crack has started the season on another level (titles, goals, assists, spectacle) and is threatening to catch up with the favourite for the award, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has the right to fight for the prize which, if he won it, would be the sixth time. 

There are more than enough reasons why Barça's No.10 should be considered -- as he was in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 -- the best player in the world in 2016. Here are his credentials: 

La Liga champion: Won the league on May. 14 when Barça beat Granada 3-0 at the Nuevo Las Carmenes with Luis Suarez scoring a hat-trick. 

Copa del Rey champions: Won the cup on May. 22 when FC Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-0 at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon in the final. He gave the assists for both goals, the first for Jordi Alba, the second for Neymar. 

Copa America runner-up: Took part in the final with Argentina on Jun. 26 in the United States against Chile, losing on penalties after a goalless draw. He missed the first spot kick. He was the second top scorer in the tournament (five goals), behind Chile's Eduardo Vargas (six goals).

Spanish Super Cup champion: On Aug. 17 at Camp Nou, he helped Barça beat Sevilla 3-0 in the second leg to win the Super Cup. He closed the scoring in the 55th minute after providing the assist for Arda Turan's opener. In the first leg, a 2-0 win, he set up Munir's goal. 

Top scorer in 2016: With 47 goals for club and country, Messi has scored more than Luis Suarez (45) and Cristiano Ronaldo (41). 

Other achievements: Since January, he's also given 24 assists and is now the player with the most Champions League hat-tricks (seven). 

Critiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, also has reasons to be named the world's best player this year. Among other things, he's won the Champions League and the European Championships. But since then, he's dropped off. However, if he's won the award previously without winning any collective titles, it wouldn't be strange if he won it again this year. Let's see...