Stan's 5-Point Stance: Liverpool Must Buy in Jan., Messi to Utd, Ronaldo, More

In this week's five-point stance, Stan Collymore visits topics related to Liverpool, Manchester United's rumoured interest in Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, PSG and his beloved Aston Villa.

1. Top four or bust for Liverpool

Mario Balotelli would probably not have joined Liverpool if they weren't in the Champions League. He hasn't performed, but that tells you how important it is to offer top-tier European football if you want to attract big names.

Liverpool are therefore under serious pressure to achieve a top-four finish. Their history and pedigree count for nothing if they can't offer Champions League football.

I see the top-four battle coming down to a fight between Liverpool and Manchester United. I fancy United to nick it, but Liverpool can seriously challenge if they strengthen in January.

2. Lionel Messi to United?

Here's my take on Manchester United's rumoured interested in Messi, per Vivek Chaudhary of ESPN FC:

3. Ballon d'Or deserved for Cristiano Ronaldo

There was no choice but Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or. He has scored goals freely and, together with Messi, dominated the game.

That said, I think both Ronaldo and Messi have benefited from being overprotected by referees.

Pele and Diego Maradona remain over Ronaldo and Messi for me, not just because they had it harder—playing in a tougher game and on worse pitches—but also because they won World Cups.

Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

4. Aston Villa in freefall

I'm desperately worried about my club Aston Villa right now. Their loss to Leicester City was their worst performance of the season, and they're in genuine trouble.

I think owner Randy Lerner needs to do what Mike Ashley did at Newcastle United and stay the course to get them back on track.

When you buy a football club, you need to commit for a decade or more. I'm backing Villa manager Paul Lambert for now, but if Villa continue to flirt with relegation, he's in trouble also.

5. PSG proving money is not everything

There's no doubting the cash driving Paris Saint-Germain's revolution in France, but it's not showing in their current domestic form.

Victor Fraile/Getty Images

PSG are fourth in France, a league they should be running away with based on resources.

Unless their players start to scrap and show more mental toughness, I fear a big disappointment is on the cards for PSG this season.

Former Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore is in his second season as a Bleacher Report contributor.