'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQb/2gAIAQEAAAAAl0//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAECEAAAAA//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAgEAAABgICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBhIAEQUiQYHS/9oACAEBAAE/AFzyZqXi3aMqcqA7dC1C7ZIopGAlra1oetsGKyjxKEffGofOf//EABcRAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAATL/2gAIAQIBAT8Ato5n/8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIx/9oACAEDAQE/AGh//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
FIFA announced on Monday the three-man shortlist for The Best Men's Player 2018 along with the shortlists for the The Best Goalkeeper and Coach of the Year. The three players nominated for The Best Men's Player 2018 include Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah.
Modric had a spectacular year with both club and country as he won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and led Croatia to the World Cup final. His exploits this summer with the national team earned him the UEFA Player of the year award and he will be eyeing to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly over the FIFA Player of the year award.
Ronaldo once again lit the UEFA Champions League with his fireworks as he finished the campaign with 15 goals in 13 appearances. The 33-year-old Portuguese forward had a moderately successful World Cup campaign as he netted 4 goals in as many appearances, but his side bowed out of the tournament in the Round of 16.
Salah had a marvelous season with Liverpool as he ended the Premier League campaign as the top goalscorer with 32 goals in 36 appearances. He also led Liverpool to the final of the UEFA Champions League where they lost to Real Madrid.
The astonishing absentee this time around was none other than FC Barcelona star, Lionel Messi who was snubbed yet again after missing out on the top-3 shortlist for UEFA Player of the year award a couple of weeks ago.
The 31-year-old forward won the domestic double with Barcelona last season and we shall now take a look at reasons why he deserved a place in the top-3 shortlist.
Top European goalscorer
FC Barcelona had a near invincible league campaign last season and their star player Lionel Messi played a huge part in it. He scored 34 goals in La Liga in 36 appearances and won the Pichichi and European Golden shoe award for the second consecutive time.
The 31-year-old Argentine forward ended the season with 45 goals in 54 appearances across all competitions and was the top European goalscorer. He also provided 18 assists in the 2017-18 season across all competitions
The three players nominated for the award have lesser goals and assists than Messi as Modric made 7 assists and scored 2 goals, Salah provided 16 assists and scored 44 goals whereas Ronaldo provided 8 assists and scored 44 goals in the 2017-18 season.
Had an impact on team's overall performance
There are very few players in world football who have a strong impact on their team's overall performance and it would be safe to say that Messi was such a player for Barcelona last year whose mere presence on the field made the Catalan club look indestructible.
Barcelona had a near invincible league campaign last season and the only game they lost was against Levante away from home in which Messi wasn't playing. The game ended 5-4 in Levante's favor and it was the only time last season when the Catalan club conceded 5 goals in a single game. The game highlighted how Messi positively impacts the game and keeps the opposition on the back foot.
The unbeaten run in La Liga would've ended a couple of weeks earlier for Barcelona if it wasn't for the little magician. Barca were trailing by 2 goals against Sevilla and were being dominated by the Andalusian side until Messi took to the field. As soon as he came on, Barcelona looked like a completely different team as they started making attacking moves and in the final moments of the game they were rewarded for their toils as Suarez and Messi scored in quick succession to restore parity at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Coupled individual brilliance with team performance for positive results
The little magician himself once said,"Goals are only important if they win games." He certainly stood by his belief last season as his 45 goals were crucial for Barcelona in securing the domestic double.
His individual brilliance came to Barcelona's rescue many times last season which was blended with the team's overall performance and yielded positive results.
Messi's absence from the three-man shortlist seems all the more unjustifiable as he achieved success at both individual and team level last season.
