There has been a furore from Barcelona fans on Twitter as Lionel Messi has been left out of the final shortlist for UEFA Player of the Year.
Lionel Messi’s name has become synonymous with individual accolades. So, naturally, when the final shortlist for UEFA Player of the Year consisting of three players was announced, it was a shock to see the Barcelona star being left out.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were the ones to make the cut. While the first two names were deserving to an extent, fans were distraught at seeing Salah being on the list when Messi did not appear in the Top 3.
There were some obvious tweets pointing at Salah and Messi’s individual performance over the given period.
?? Mo Salah 2017/18:
⚽️ Goals: 44
?️ Assists: 16
? Trophies: 0?? Leo Messi 2017/18:
⚽️ Goals: 45
?️ Assists: 18
? Trophies: 2Work that one out… ? https://t.co/q9U8WCGiyq
— TeamFA (@TeamFA) August 20, 2018
But tbh, what is Mo Salah really doing in that list if Messi is left out?? The latter clearly had more goals and assists than him.
— Cross˚ (@Elcrucifixio) August 21, 2018
UEFA believes Salah had a better year than Lionel Messi?
On what basis please? Messi had a far better season than Salah both individually and collectively.
— Tolu Davies Ol’moteni (@tolumoteni) August 20, 2018
Messi won Double and was the Top Scorer in Europe, but got neglected for the European Best Award but Salah who won nothing but got the nod. Messi Standard so high now or just a personal beef from Uefa
— Adesola Dempsey (@misturdempsey91) August 20, 2018
Lionel Messi isn’t in the shortlist for UEFA POTY.
Lionel Messi, who won 3 trophies, the European Golden Shoe & topped rankings for goals, assists, chances created, key passes and goals from set pieces.
Meanwhile Mo Salah, who won absolutely nothing, is in contention. Baffling.
— Tom Todhunter (@tdhntr) August 20, 2018
Recent hate for Liverpool fans on FT from rival fans is purely because Liverpool fans overrate their players and they think they’re better and deserves every award when they won nothing.
How can you say Salah deserves UEFA player of the year ahead of Ronaldo , Messi and Modric?
— Ali?? (@TheBeardedRauI) August 20, 2018
Some lamented the fact that Messi has now become an underrated player while others were shocked at the decision.
Messi is probably underrated, isn’t he? His greatness is normalised to the extent where being the top scorer in Europe and winning two trophies isn’t seen as extraordinary as Salah having a standout season or Modric taking a dark horse to a final.
— James Harris (@JamesCHarris97) August 20, 2018
Messi will barely make Ballon d’Or top 3 (if he even makes it at all) and he was quite clearly the best player in the world throughout the year for anyone that actually bothered watching the game of football every weekend.
— Josip ?️ (@jperkovic93) August 20, 2018
Messi is not just taken for granted nowadays, he’s downright underrated and overlooked for the past few years. The only reasonable explanation is that people don’t really watch him or Barça enough nowadays. End of story. https://t.co/kGDSckzoBX
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) August 20, 2018
I would talk about how ridiculous it is that the European Golden Shoe/La Liga winner isn’t up for the UEFA Best Player Award.
But since Messi will do the talking himself on the pitch… it should be fun.
— Lucas Resende (@lucasammr) August 20, 2018
Some though, chose to contradict and troll, not Lionel Messi but the fans.
Messi fans are hilarious.
Because Messi won the Pichichi and a domestic double, he deserves to be in top 3.
We haven’t seen you voice out for Lewandowksi and Zlatan (at PSG) over the years for doing the same thing multiple times
— Mr. Jack Robinson (@jackdre02) August 20, 2018
An entirely new idea was presented as well.
Cavani won the domestic treble last season, scored more than Messi in the UCL, performed better than Messi at the World Cup.
I think it should be about Cavani
— Mr. Jack Robinson (@jackdre02) August 20, 2018