Barcelona's Lionel Messi Enhances Ballon d'Or Credentials with Virtuoso Display

Barcelona and Lionel Messi had this game wrapped up before we had even reached the quarter-hour mark. On Saturday, Barcelona beat Granada 4-0 behind three goals from Messi.

Despite a five-man defence, Granada's hopes of playing an attacking style to unsettle their hosts fell flat almost immediately, and a 24th defeat in 24 visits was always on the cards by the time Messi poached his second goal on 14 minutes. 

The Argentinian was, as ever, a constant threat throughout, teasing and tantalising the opposition. He would give them a hint of the ball, only to expertly manipulate it away at the last second.

Jose Ramon Sandoval's side never really stood a chance against a side that has now scored four goals in three of its last four games and has kept a clean sheet in five of the last seven, per WhoScored.com.

The football was so good at times that journalist Graham Ruthven was just one to sing the praises of the Blaugrana on Twitter:

Whether this incarnation of Barca is the best club side ever is subjective, but should they go on to become the first team to retain the Champions League in its current format, then the history books will tell us they are certainly up there as contenders.

This match gave Luis Enrique the opportunity to give Arda Turan his Liga debut, and the Turkey international didn't disappoint.

His pass for Messi's first goal was sublime, and his dummy in the lead-up to Messi's hat-trick goal was a measure of just how well Turan has taken to his role in this team.

Indeed, for a player who has sat twiddling his thumbs for the last six months, his form and application already are nothing short of extraordinary.

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And he brings something extra to the team too, combining twinkle-toed finesse with full-blooded commitment. The latter is something Barca have particularly lacked at times; that Turan could become an enforcer of sorts potentially makes his employ more appealing for Enrique.

Thomas Vermaelen also deserves a mention after another decent defensive performance.

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Not to take anything away from Javier Mascherano, but being naturally left-footed, the ex-Arsenal captain gives the centre of the defence better balance alongside Gerard Pique. 

Both on the ground and aerially, Vermaelen has been solid whenever called upon and surely must have surged ahead of Jeremy Mathieu as first reserve, if not ahead of Mascherano as a more regular starter.

Luis Suarez had an off day, Neymar had completely the opposite and Sergi Roberto continued to make headlines for all of the right reasons. That's six different positions the youngster has played in his 23 matches this season—versatility that has made him virtually indispensable.

Yet Messi still stood head and shoulders above them all. 

Goals have been his currency for years now, but his evolution into another type of player altogether is fascinating for any connoisseurs of football to bear witness to.

He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent who appears to have no discernible weakness to his game.

On every level that's preposterous, yet he makes the seemingly impossible manifest on an almost weekly basis thanks to the magic in his boots and the razor-sharp intelligence of his footballing brain. 

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There's no real doubting as to which player deserves the Ballon d'Or, and with performances of this ilk, Messi just underscores the fact he's far from done yet.

If, as expected, he wins an unprecedented fifth gong on Monday, he would surge further ahead of his contemporaries.

But even with two months of this season missed through injury, you sense he's in the mood to ensure his own personal sextuple by this time next year.