Top 10 Footballers of 2014 #3: Lionel Messi

2014 saw a downturn for Lionel Messi on a collective level: Barcelona did not win La Liga, Copa del Rey or the Champions League. In a year of dominance for Spanish sides, Barca were ultimately the third wheel to both Madrid sides. At the World Cup, he won the Golden Ball but had to make do with a silver medal. That’s not to suggest that it was all negative. Far from it. Two key milestones were fulfilled: Equalling and breaking the La Liga and Champions League goal records. There were also some beautiful carpe diem moments at the World Cup: the winners against Bosnia and Iran. The brace against Nigeria also stood out. His assist for Angel di Maria came as a penalty shootout beckoned.

At Barcelona, there have been slight tweaks to his style of play. In order to successfully accommodate Luis Suarez and Neymar, he functions a lot deeper and plays more for the team as opposed to the days where the team was built to play around him.

The Argentine has influenced a lot of what we understand of football so much that even in a year where he’s been slightly less explosive, he’s still without peer.