Lionel Messi set to snub PSG and display 7th Ballon d'Or in Barcelona - Reports

According to reports, Lionel Messi has chosen to hold the display for his 7th Ballon d’Or in Barcelona, instead of Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) home-city of Paris.

Earlier this season, Lionel Messi brought an end to a trophy-laden Barcelona career after the club failed to find a way to keep him. Due to their financial crisis, the Catalan club had to let Messi leave, who chose to go to PSG. Since joining PSG, Lionel Messi has not been in his best form, especially in Ligue 1. He has scored just once in eight overall appearances thus far.

Messi has also scored three Champions League goals and has been unlucky on several occasions not to add to his tally. Regardless, Messi won his 7th Ballon d'Or on November 29. It has now been reported that he has decided to host his award’s display at the Barcelona Museum.

Lionel Messi earned the award mostly for his performances last year for Argentina and Barcelona. He had 50 goals and 17 assists during this period for club and country.

By comparison, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski had 62 goals for club and country. This is the major reason why a part of the footballing fraternity believes the Polish striker was robbed off the award.

However, it seems as if Messi's Copa America triumph with Argentina ended up tipping the scales in his favor. With the Ballon d’Or display now reportedly happening in Barcelona, quite a few Lionel Messi supporters might be happy with the decision.

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Lionel Messi wins historic 7th Ballon d’Or, but can it be his last?

At PSG, Lionel Messi has struggled. His 7th Ballon d’Or award is a result of his achievements with his previous club and Argentina over the past year. Mauricio Pochettino has already suggested multiple times that he is struggling to fit in the three top-class attackers. These include Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all in the same starting eleven.

This is because of their differences in playing-style. Kylian Mbappe prefers to run at his defender and is very direct. Neymar tends to play in a rhythm and tries to mix up his intensity through games. Lionel Messi is a product of the tiki-taka philosophy and has learnt to master the art of patient build-up. He combines that with speed and skills at the opportune moment.

Additionally, Messi’s passing ability means that he is perfectly capable of playing multiple positions.

Finally, all three of the attackers do not have the highest work-rates and have been criticized recently for “walking around the field.”

In such a scenario, Lionel Messi needs to improve upon his individual numbers. He will also have to hope that the star-studded PSG team fulfills its potential. PSG’s owners’ most important goal at the club is to win a Champions League title. They do have the players to do so. However, tactical limitations might as yet prove to be a huge foil in their ambitions this season.

PSG needs to figure out a way to play its best players together in an effective manner. Not doing so will result in a further wait for the Champions League. Moreover, it also brings the possibility that Lionel Messi will never win another Ballon d'Or.