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What's the story?
Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has won the Premio Aldo Rovira award for his incredible performances in the previous season.
In case you didn't know...
The 'Premio Aldo Rovira' is an award which recognises the best player of the previous season. It was introduced by former Barcelona director Josep Lluís Rovira in honour of his son who died in an accident in March 2009. The award is now in its ninth edition.
Messi missed out on a sixth Ballon d'Or this year as the Argentine finished fifth in the rankings behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe. The snub marks the first time the Barcelona star was ranked out of the top three since 2006. Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde maintains that Messi's ranking is purely "absurd".
He said (via BBC), "We congratulate Modric for winning the Ballon d'Or but Messi being in fifth place is absurd."
"I will not get into discussing the inconsistencies of the prize."
The heart of the matter
Despite not winning the Ballon d'Or this year, Messi was awarded with the 'Premio Aldo Rovira in recognition of his brilliant performances in the 2017/18 season.
The prize marks his sixth win as the Argentine has won the award five times before - in 2009/10, 2010/11, 2012/13, 2014/15 and 2016/17.
The Barcelona talisman netted 40 goals and provided 14 assists for the Catalan giants between La Liga and the Champions League last season. He also helped the side to a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey trophy.
Previous winners of the award also include Éric Abidal in 2011/12, Javier Mascherano in 2013/14 and Luis Suarez in 2015/16.
What's next?
Messi's Barcelona is set to face Espanyol in a La Liga clash on Sunday.
