When was the last time Lionel Messi was not in the running for the Ballon d’Or as a finalist?

That would be 2007,when he finished third behind Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo for the award. A year later, he missed out because of his great rival’s victory, but then went on to pull off a historic run of four straight Ballon d’Or trophies.

This year he is up for his fifth, and while some believe that Ronaldo has the award locked up and ready to go, it is possible that the Argentine superstar, possibly the greatest to ever lace up cleats, could win the personal award.

Messi’s first award came in 2009 when he finished the year with 41 goals and 14 assists. But his award was backed by quite a few trophies. He picked up the Spanish League title, the Spanish Super Cup, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the Club World Cup and the European Super Cup. That was Barcelona’s finest season to date, and he was a key reason for that success, as he finished as the Champions League’s top scorer that year with nine goals.

But that would not be his best moment in winning the trophy. In 2011, he was given the same honor for scoring 59 goals and 36 assists in the calendar year while picking up the same six trophies, and Messi would score 12 goals to lead the UCL scoring.

From an individual and team perspective, those were his two most complete calendar years.

But his other two wins came on the heels of terrific individual performances. None was better than the 91-goal year in 2012, where Messi reached his heights as a goal scorer and came as close as he ever will to claiming the title of greater player ever. Add in the 23 assists and Messi was in on 114 goals all year long. He set the record for most goals in the Champions League that year (which would be broken by his rival this past year) and scored 59 goals in the Spanish League in that year alone.

However, he only claimed one trophy for Barcelona the entire year -- the Copa del Rey.

His other trophy was the most controversial of all. Messi scored 60 goals in 2010 and provided 20 assists while winning the Spanish League trophy. But when it came to the World Cup, he put up a goose egg, and many felt that Wesley Sneijder, who had won a treble with Inter Milan, was more deserving. If not him, then surely his teammates Xavi or Andres Iniesta for winning the Spanish League title with Barcelona and then picking up the World Cup trophy along the way.

So how does his 2014 match up with those other years?

For starters, it is far better than 2013, when the superstar scored 45 goals for club and country. In 2014, he has a total of 56 goals and 21 assists, which put his numbers close to 2010 and 2011. However, unlike either of those years, Messi does not have a single club trophy to show for it. He did make a run to the World Cup and earned the Golden Ball in that tournament, but he was not the man to raise the more important trophy, and many acknowledged that when push came to shove in the final rounds, he was essentially invisible.

He is being outscored by rival Cristiano Ronaldo this year, though the gap is not quite as big as it was last year (69-45 versus 61-56 this year). But Ronaldo has broken some records for most goals in the UCL, and he became the fastest player to 200 goals in the Spanish League as well (though that record was broken after the voting ended). He also has less trophies than Manuel Neuer, who picked up club hardware with Bayern Munich and the World Cup against Messi’s Argentina.

Ronaldo did win the Ballon d’Or in 2013 without picking up any piece of hardware with Real Madrid, but the reality is that his goalscoring was superior to anyone else in contention. This year, his goalscoring rate is arguably more spectacular, but he also has the hardware to back it up.

Does Messi have a chance to win the Ballon d’Or this year despite not possessing a trophy?