Lionel Messi skipping FIFA awards as Cristiano Ronaldo is clear favorite to win
With Lionel Messi looking unlikely to beat Cristiano Ronaldo for FIFA's annual top honor, Barcelona announced that Messi won't travel to Monday night's awards gala in Zurich, Switzerland.
"With the aim of prioritizing preparations for Wednesday’s game against Athletic Club, FC Barcelona have decided that the players recognized” at The Best FIFA Awards will not travel, Barcelona said. Messi is the only Barca player up for an award, although Neymar is considered a favorite to be voted into the World XI team.
The chances of Messi winning do look pretty slim, so it’s not too surprising to see him skip the ceremony and for Barcelona to treat it as a foregone conclusion. Ronaldo already won the Ballon d’Or — the French award split from FIFA’s top award this year — which is a pretty good indicator.
That’s not to say Messi’s year wasn’t terrific. He led Barcelona to La Liga and Copa del Rey titles and was spectacular in his play all year. He led Argentina to the Copa America Centenario final although they lost on penalty kicks, where Messi missed.
But as good as Messi’s year was, Ronaldo’s was simply better. He won the Champions League with Real Madrid. He won the European Championship with Portugal. And he scored a ton of goals to make those things happen.
Sure, Messi's Barcelona do have a match on Wednesday vs. Athletic Bilbao in Copa del Ray, but Ronaldo's Real Madrid play Sevilla on Thursday and Antoine Greizmann's Atletico Madrid play Las Palmas on Tuesday, so the timing of the awards ceremony isn't convenient for anyone, really.
Either way, Messi won’t be at the awards ceremony on Monday, and it probably won’t make a difference.
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