Lionel Messi misses out on FIFA World Player of the Year final shortlist for first time in 12 years
Argentinian forward Lionel Messi has missed out on the final shortlist of the FIFA men’s World Player of the Year award for the first time in twelve years.
The top three players announced by FIFA are Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Egypt’s Mohammed Salah and Croatia’s Luka Modric.
Ronaldo and Modric were a part of the Real Madrid team that lifted the Champions League trophy in May, while Salah had an outstanding year with Liverpool.
Modric was also awarded the Golden Ball at the just concluded FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Messi, a five-time winner of the award, has before now, featured in the top three for 11 straight years.
Ronaldo, also a five-time winner of the award, has had a slow start to his Juventus career, failing to find the back of the net in the club’s first three league matches.
