Lionel Messi is likely to miss out on a sixth Ballon d’Or award after Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliant end-of-season run fired Real Madrid to the La Liga title and a third Champions League crown in three years.

The Argentinian enjoyed yet another outstanding season for Barcelona, scoring 54 goals in all competitions, but Ronaldo came up huge when it mattered, scoring hat-tricks in Real’s Champions League quarter-final and semi-final matches and bagging a brace in the final win over Juventus.

Messi, who recently celebrated his 30th birthday, will be itching to bounce back from Barcelona’s disappointments as the club moves forward with new coach Ernesto Valverde.

The Blaugrana defeated Juventus in Valverde’s first game in charge on Saturday night, Neymar stealing the show with a brace in Barça’s 2-1 win.

Barça’s success this season depends as much on Neymar snubbing a possible move to Paris Saint-Germain as it does Messi maintaining his incredible standards.

And early reports from Spain suggest that won’t be a concern for the Catalan giants.

A source told Sport that Messi is “happy, he’s renewed his contract at Barcelona and he’s turned up at pre-season like a train.”

Sport’s report continues by analysing Messi’s GPS data from his 45-minute display against Juventus at MetLife Stadium in the United States.

Every Barça player wears a GPS tracker during pre-season games to monitor their physical and metabolic condition.

Messi's best numbers

And after the match, Messi’s GPS showed numbers that ‘had never been seen before in pre-season’.

A source told Sport that Messi’s figures, while confidential, are the forward’s best ever in pre-season in terms of distance, acceleration, top speed, speed over 20 minutes, aerobic capacity and a number of other categories.

It’s pointed out that Messi isn’t coming off a World Cup or Copa America, so he’s well rested.

Messi recovered the ball six times in just 45 minutes against Juve, which speaks volumes about the condition he’s currently in. Check out his highlights below.

Messi married his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo earlier in the month in his hometown of Rosaria in Argentina.

So despite missing out on the two main prizes on offer to Barcelona each season, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has probably never felt happier.

Early signs suggest Messi could be in for another transcendent campaign.

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