Lionel Messi did not win the gold ball because of the 53 goals he scored and the 23 brews he provided to his friends in 2019, but because it was a personal prize in team sports and in the last year the flea managed to be above his team and sometimes even above the game itself

• Messi, tonight in Paris

  Photography:

  IP

• Messi receives the award last year, Luca Mudrich, tonight in Paris

  Photography:

  IP

• Messi in Barca uniform. Sixth career win

  Photography:

  IP

Lao Messi’s sixth Golden Ball win, and will excuse me from Liverpool and Christian Ronaldo fans, is far more justified than the previous five. And not because of 53 expatriates and 23 cooking, championship, scorer and cookery of the Spanish and Champions League. But because it is a personal prize in team sports, which is another topic of discussion, and in the last year Messi has managed to be above the team, and sometimes even over the game.

Take, for example, Barcelona's 0: 1 against Atletico Madrid yesterday: it was 0: 0 on that game, until the Argentine decided to erase and add the number 1 to his team.

It is important to clarify: Virgil Van Dyke was excellent, supreme, spectacular, but so was Liverpool as a whole. The Dutch was a very important screw on a greased machine, while Messi was the machine that lubricated the screws. This year, more than ever, the difference between the Argentine and those around him stood out.

Many times he was independent of his teammates, opponent identity, game momentum and what dictates healthy logic. This year, more than ever, Messi has done many of these things that only he can do on his own, against the current, in person. So if the essence of this unnecessary prize is to choose the only one in the sport of togetherness, then in 2019 Leo Messi is the one.