3 players who deserved to be on FIFA's 'Player of the Year' Shortlist

#1 Lionel Messi

Messi deserved to be in the final shortlist

In strangest decision ever by FIFA, the 5 time Ballon d’Or winner was left out of the final three shortlist of the FIFA’s Best. Even if we compare the three players in the shortlist to Messi, none of them have achieved anything to become more deserving of the final three positions. If we talk about goals and assists during the voting period, Ronaldo had 54 goals and 11 assists, Salah had 50 goals and 14 assists, while Messi scored 52 goals and had 21 assists in that period.

If the performance in the World Cup matters the most, only Modric performed better than Messi in the tournament. However, even though Ronaldo did score more goals than the Argentinian, Salah was a complete no-show. In the Champions League, none of the three shortlisted players had as many Man of the Match Awards as Messi - Modric did not win any, Salah won 1 MOTM in the 12 games he played, Ronaldo won 4 MOTM in the 13 games he played, while Messi won 6 MOTM in the 8 games he played.

If trophies are the deciding factors, Messi won the La Liga and the Copa del Rey last season. He also picked up the European Golden Shoes for a record 5th time. Both Modric and Ronaldo were the Champions League winners with Real Madrid, while Salah did not win anything last season.

It is extremely unclear as to why Messi was snubbed for the FIFA’s Best shortlist, but his absence does make the awards a lot stale in comparison. However, the huge criticism FIFA received in the wake of his absence clearly highlights how much adored and respected he is all over the world. Perhaps the most vocal outrage has come from Filipe Luiz, the Atletico Madrid man, who said that with Messi's absence in the shortlist, the FIFA's Best Awards has lost its credibility.

Messi should use all the love and inspire himself to be even better this season, however, it is hard to understand how much more a man needs to do, to make it to the podium.