Lionel Messi, finalist for The Best award: after winning the World Cup, he aims for the most elusive trophy

Lionel Messi He is the first Ballon d’Or winner, has seven trophies which he jealously guards in his home in Paris. But the same is not the case with The bestthe prize that Fifa organized since its separation from the magazine French football and in which it is a finalist for delivery on Monday 27 February, as announced this Friday.

Since Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the first The Best in history for the best player of the season in 2016, six trophies have been awarded but Leo has won only one, collecting three second places and one third place. Only in 2018 did he not make the shortlist, after a disappointing performance by Argentina at the World Cup in Russia. There, the contestants were Luka Modric (picked the best), Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah.

The only The Best that appears in its showcase is that of 2019when he prevailed over the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, winner of the first two editions, and the Dutch Virgil Van Dijk, who for many should have been the winner but finished second.

In that 2018-19 season, Leo had been champion of the Spanish league, finalist in the Copa del Rey and semi-finalist in the Champions League with Barcelona, ​​as well as having scored 54 goals in 58 matches between the Spanish club and the Argentine national team . .

After Robert Lewandowski won it in 2021 and 2022, no one seems to be able to get The Best out of Messi after he gets his long-awaited World Cup consecration in Qatar.

His rivals, in fact, will be two Frenchmen, even if one was not in the final in Doha. Regard kylian mbappefigure of that match and FIFA event top scorer, e Karim Benzemathe great absence of the French national team due to an injury suffered a few days before the start of the World Cup.

In its report on the three finalists, FIFA stressed that “Messi is the only player who has scored at the World Cup in his teens, twenties and thirties”, having reached his fifth World Cup in Qatar at the age of 35.

“Messi acted a series of fascinating performances who led Argentina to glory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The number 10 genius was The talisman of Argentina in Qatar, scoring seven goals – including a brace in that unforgettable final win against France – and providing three assists during the tournament. His teammates also often cited his leadership as an essential factor in the team’s success,” summarizes the website of the top football body.

According to FIFA, “Messi’s inspirational influence was evident when he received the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the competition.” That day Leo, who also won the prize in Brazil 2014, he became the first player to receive it twice. Similarly, the PSG striker has also surpassed German Lothar Matthaus as the record holder for World Cup appearances.

Leo also made the final shortlist for being a key player for PSG in their Ligue 1 consecration in his first season. “However,” stressed FIFA, Messi’s World Cup triumph defined his yearas he lit up football’s biggest stage and lifted the trophy he coveted above all others.”