K minus 5 days - Five Players to Watch Out For - Messi

Arguably the best player of the generation, Lionel Messi is known to set records both off and on the field. He won the prestigious Ballon d'Or four times in a row, the first time at the age of 23 and the first player to win four. The only point against him would be his indifferent performances for his national team at international stage. Apart from that blemish, Messi became Barca's leading goal scorer at 24, scored 200 La Liga goals at 25 and his club record is perfect

Played only for Barcelona at senior level, he won six La Ligas, three Chamions Leagues, five Super Cups, two each of Copa de Reys, Club World Cups and UEFA Super Cups. Messi so far has dominated rivalry against the only other player at the same league, Cristiano Ronaldo although last season witnessed dominant form from Ronaldo and diminished performance from the diminutive Argentine Winger. Nonetheless, Messi still holds records as the top European Scorer in a season, with 73 goals in 2012, most La Liga goals, 50 in the same season, five goals in a single Champions League match and most hat tricks in Champions League

He has never been quite that force at the international level and his partnership with another extraordinary Argentine striker Carlos Tevez had been a disaster. After Tevez was dropped from the team, Messi has shown glimpses of his club brilliance for the team though, especially in the World Cup qualifiers. If he continues his form in the main event, he's bound to score some points and would add something that had been missing in his near perfect career

Ronaldo - Messi - Neymar - Robben - Iniesta