“Yet there are those that believe he is not a true leader, primarily because he failed to carry an atrocious and rudderless Argentina side to World Cup glory, even though they wouldn’t have even made it to Russia had it not been for his hat-trick in the decisive, must-win victory over Ecuador in Quito last November.”
According to the majority of those who vote for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, Lionel Messi does not rank among the game’s top three players over the past 12 months.
Gary Lineker was among the many absolutely baffled by Messi’s omission from the podium places, arguing that “no one that understands the game” could have excluded him from their top three.
The former England international reasoned, “Barcelona won the double largely thanks to Messi.”
A very valid point but then, anyone who understands the awards game will realise that consistent brilliance over the course of a domestic season no longer counts for anything.
League campaigns, rather than cup competitions, were once considered the true test of both a team’s and a player’s quality but no longer.
How else can we explain Messi failing to make FIFA’s top three or even the top four of UEFA’s Player of the Year award? There was no better player from start to finish in the 2017-18 campaign.
Obviously, the reason why the No.10 wasn’t regarded as a contender for the top spot was because Barcelona capitulated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League at Roma before Argentina endured a calamitous World Cup campaign.
The Albiceleste’s last-16 exit in Russia resulted in Messi’s claim on the title of the greatest player in history being called into question once again, something that even the great Ronaldinho finds ludicrous.
“He’s the best in history, no doubt,” the Brazilian told Sport earlier this week. “Nobody has done what Messi’s done.”
Yet there are those that believe he is not a true leader, primarily because he failed to carry an atrocious and rudderless Argentina side to World Cup glory, even though they wouldn’t have even made it to Russia had it not been for his hat-trick in the decisive, must-win victory over Ecuador in Quito last November.
Furthermore, when it came to picking a new Barcelona captain following Andres Iniesta’s departure for Japan during the summer, Ernesto Valverde only ever had one possible candidate in mind. After all, it was Messi who had, as Lineker quite rightly pointed out, carried the Catalans to a domestic double last season.
This wasn’t just any Barca side either. It was arguably the weakest Barcelona squad since Ronaldinho had first rocked up at Camp Nou to kickstart an era of unprecedented success.
Carles Puyol and Xavi had long since departed, Iniesta proved a fading force, Luis Suarez sparkled only intermittently and all of this after Neymar absconded for Paris Saint-Germain just before the 2017-18 campaign began.
The Brazilian’s replacement, Ousmane Dembele, saw his debut season blighted by injuries, while the likes of Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer failed to find anything like the requisite consistency required to excel at the highest level.
Unlike Messi. Thanks to his enduring genius, Barcelona not only won two trophies, they very nearly became the first Liga team to go through an entire campaign undefeated.
