Spanish sides have never had good defences except the Valencia sides under Ranieri, Cuper and Benitez and the current Barca one.
Believe it or not but Messi needs Barcelona as much as they need him. The reason why he isn't able to emulate the same kind of form for Argentina is because instead of Xavi and Iniesta they have Mascherano or Veron.
Wayne Rooney has certainly upped his level this season, but I would certainly pick Messi ahead of him or any other player any day of the week. I said this about two seasons back as well when Ronaldo had that amazing season with Manure, that while Cristiano will be one of many great players of his era, Messi is going to become an all-time legend, in the same bracket as Maradona, Pele and Di Stefano.
As far as the Ballon D'or goes, I think World Cup performances will play a crucial part this time around and I think neither Argentina nor England will last the distance.