Why isn’t Lionel Messi at the ‘The Best’ awards gala?

Lionel Messi will be the big absentee at The Best FIFA Football Awards on Monday.

The illustrious ceremony will be held in London, England with some of the biggest names in the sport expected to be in attendance. The Argentine has already picked up FIFA’s award twice and has opted against making the trip from Miami for the event.

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DirecTV Sports Argentina reports that Messi will continue with Inter Miami’s pre-season preparations ahead of their first friendly against El Salvador on Friday. The Herons have a hectic pre-season with trips to Hong Kong, Japan and Argentina to follow the El Salvador clash.

On Monday Messi finds himself on a three-man shortlist alongside Erling Haaland and former teammate Kylian Mbappé. Haaland is the favourite to win the award after firing Manchester City to a historic treble in 2023.

Messi returns as ‘The Best’ finalist

FIFA’s individual award was introduced in 2017 and is now issued annually to celebrate the finest performers from the previous calendar year. Messi finished runner-up to Cristiano Ronaldo in the inaugural edition but the Argentine has an impressive record in the award’s short history.

This year marks the seventh time in eight years that Messi has been named in the top three of the award. Messi, Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have each won the award twice, with Luka Modric also scooping the gong in 2018. This time around Ronaldo was not nominated for FIFA’s top individual prize.

Messi is the current holder of the award, beating off competition form the French duo Mbappé and Karim Benzema in the final.