Thierry Henry: It'd be crazy if Lionel Messi doesn’t win Ballon d’Or

Henry heaps praise on his former Barcelona teammate ahead of Monday's Ballon d'Or gala.

If Thierry Henry had a FIFA Ballon d'Or vote, there's no question where it would go. 

Henry said it would be crazy if Lionel Messi did not end Cristiano Ronaldo's two-year reign and take home the trophy at Monday's gala in Zurich. In an interview with FC Barcelona's website, Henry heaped praise on Messi, while also pondering why his teammate, Luis Suarez, is not among the finalists for the award.

Messi is gunning for his fifth Ballon d'Or, winning four straight from 2009-2012 and then finishing second to Ronaldo for the 2013 and 2014 awards. Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar are the finalists this year.

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"You can't really explain what Leo is doing, you can't explain it, you just have to admire it, enjoy it, because what he's doing, I don't know, it's just not normal. Before when you scored 23-25 goals in a season, everybody said that you were an incredible striker. Leo does it in three months. ... Leo, at times, I think really seriously, I ask myself if he's human.  

"If he doesn't win [Ballon d'Or], then, in my opinion, it would be crazy. Aside from that, he deserves it. They won the treble once again. What I don't understand is why Luis Suarez isn't in the shortlist. There are only three places of course, and that's the problem. If you talk about statistics, what they're doing, it's incredible." 

Henry played with Messi at Barcelona from 2007 to 2010, winning the Champions League (and La Liga and Copa del Rey) together in 2009. This season's Champions League round of 16 will pit a pair of Henry's former teams against one another, as Messi, Suarez and Barcelona take on Arsenal.

Watch Henry's full interview about Messi here.