#2 His no-show at the Copa America
With 34 major trophies won, Lionel Messi is among the most decorated players in history, but a cursory look at his trophy haul would reveal the rather disappointing fact that all of his honours have come with Barcelona.
For all of his best efforts and quality of teammates he has had over the years, the Rosario native is yet to win a major international title, with his only honours with Argentina coming at Under 20 and Olympic levels.
In his time with the Albiceleste, Messi has lost four major finals, prolonging Argentina's wait for a major trophy which has now stretched to 28 years.
The 2019 Copa America offered another shot at international glory, but it once more ended in disappointment as Lionel Messi and co. got dumped out at the semifinal stage, having to settle for third place instead.
Over the years, one of the major reasons given for Argentina's struggles at tournaments has been the underperformance of Messi's teammates as he always stepped up to the plate only to be undone by sub-par displays by his colleagues.
However, this time around the reverse happened to be the case as Messi proved to be nothing more than a passenger, standing idly by as players like Leandro Paredes and Lautaro Martinez stepped up to the plate in his stead.
In total, Messi scored just one goal (from the penalty spot) and registered just one assist from six matches and this is a ridiculously poor return from a player of his standing, while he ended his tournament with a red card and the possibility of a two-year ban for accusing CONMEBOL of corruption.
Having failed to inspire Barcelona to glory on the continental stage, Lionel Messi also faltered badly on the international scene and as such is not deserving of a top-three finish in the 2019 Ballon d'Or.