2015 draws to a close and VAVEL UK present our first ever Top 50 Players in the World.
Voted for by both editors and writers at VAVEL UK, we have produced a refined list of the best players of this year. Today, we'll reveal the Top 11-20 best players of 2015 with Number One on January 1st, New Year's Day.
Keep following to see who has made it and who hasn't. There were some lengthy discussions over who slipped into this list.
You can see the Top 41-50 here. You can see the Top 31-40 here. You can see the Top 21-30 here.
And so, now for 20-11.
1 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona/Argentina)
Words: Vijay Vemu
Stats
It was business as usual for Leo Messi as he scored 58 goals for FC Barcelona last season. He did most of his damage in La Liga as he scored 43 goals and assisted 18 times in the top division of Spanish football. He also helped with 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League as he helped lead Barcelona to the European treble. This year Messi has scored 12 goals and has five assists for the Catalans. This is also coming off the fact that he missed a month of action with a knee injury.
Standout performances
Messi's best performance came in the Champions League as he helped lead the Catalans to the UCL title in June. He showed his world class in the semi-final against Bayern Munich in the first leg in the Camp Nou. With the game tied 0-0, Messi found some space outside the box and let go a cannon of a shot with his left foot and it beat Manuel Neuer, arguably the best goalie in the world, on the near post to give Barcelona the advantage in the tie. Then he came back a few minutes later on the outside of the box when he made Bayern defender Jerome Boateng fall with a slick move and chipped Neuer to give Barca the 2-0 advantage. When Messi's team needed him the most, he delivered on the brightest stage.
Possible areas to improve
Although Messi is a true attacking player, one area he could improve in could be tracking back. Since he is a small player, there is nothing he can do to improve in the air but tracking back hasn't always been something Messi has excelled at. Due to Barcelona's style of controlling possession and their already relentless pressure to get the ball he doesn't always need to do that. One more area could be looking for teammates when he goes on his classic solo runs. But since he's Messi, it's fine.
When asked about Leo Messi after Barcelona winning the Club World Cup versus River Plate, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu said (via Sport-English) “In 2003 Ronaldinho gave us our smile back. But now we have Messi, the best player of all time."
After Barca's 6-1 thrashing of Roma in the UCL, teammate Luis Suarez was asked about Messi and the Uruguayan said this (via the Daily Mail) : "Messi is the best. It makes you happy just to see him out on the pitch. None of the rest of us would say that we can be the best in the world because he is."
What's in store for next year?
In 2016, expect more of the same from Messi. He will continue to lead Barcelona in attack and will be the driving force behind their success as always. It's stunning to think that he is only 28 years old and is in the prime of his career. Some hail him as the best of all time already and some don't but it looks like it will be only a matter of time before everyone will acknowledge him as the best of all time.
