4 things we learned from Lionel Messi's FIFA Player Of The Year award snub
We are racing into the latter stages of the year and football's governing body (FIFA) is wasting no time in the attempt to reward the most impressive superstars for another term - recently releasing their final 3-man shortlist to compete for the Player Of The Year award.
For the first time in 10 years, Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi was ignored on the final shortlist, with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, his ex-teammate Luka Modric and Liverpool maestro Mohamed Salah making up the final 3 contenders for the award.
Just as we would expect, FIFA's decision to snub the Argentine legend from their final shortlist has been met with so much criticism - with many people rising up to the defense of the playmaker and slamming the association for such a ridiculous omission.
As a matter of fact, Lionel Messi was one of the top performers on the planet last season, bagging a whopping 44 goals and 18 assists in 52 appearances as well as helping Barcelona to claim both the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy - thereby, making his omission an unbearable one for many football enthusiasts.
Below, we take a look at 4 things that we learned from the snub:
#4 Messi's brilliance is taken for granted
Even heavens know quite well that Lionel Messi deserved to be named among the finalists for the FIFA award this term, but it now seems people have been so familiar with his incredible brilliance that they expect him to perform at an extra-terrestrial level before they give him the recognition he deserves.
The Argentine ran riot throughout the previous season, tearing opposition defenses apart and adding a new dimension to football that made the sport look very easy and beautiful. He ended up winning the European Golden Shoe after outscoring every superstar on the continent with his amazing 34 goals in 36 appearances during the league campaign.
He also led Barcelona to claim both the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey trophy, breaking records upon records and claiming the Pichichi award for his incredible goalscoring exploits for the term.