In the best selection of UEFA and FIFA, Messi failed to be in the final three candidates. In the Ballon d’Or competition this year, Messi eventually ranked fifth. Last time Messi didn’t be in the top 3 is 12 years ago.
In 2006, the top 3 of Ballon d’Or were Cannavaro, Zidane and Ronaldinho. Cannavaro is the captain of the World Cup champion Italy. Zidane led the French team to get into the World Cup finals. Ronaldinho won the Champions League and La Liga title in Barcelona. At that time, Messi was still a young player in Barcelona. He also played only a substitute role in the Argentine team.
In the following 11 years, Messi was all in the final three of the Ballon d’Or. Messi won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015. He was in the second place in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. He was in the third place in 2007. But in 2018, Messi was only in the fifth place of the Ballon d’Or competition.
On personal ability, Messi is still one of the best players on the planet. He scored 34 goals in La Liga last season and won the European Golden Boot. He scored 45 goals in 2018. He led Barcelona to win the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup championships.
But, compared to the top four players of the Ballon d’Or this yeay (Modric, C. Ronaldo, Griezmann and Mbappe), Messi is indeed lacking competitiveness in the team’s honor. Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League, and Modric also led Croatia to the World Cup final. Griezmann won the World Cup and the Europa League, and Mbappe won the World Cup and the French Ligue 1. The importance and value of the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles is obviously not as good as the World Cup and the Champions League trophies.
Moreover, in the two major events of the Champions League and the World Cup, Messi did not perform well in 2018. In the quarter-final of the Champions League, Barcelona won Rome at home by 4-1 in the first round, but lost to Rome by 0-3 in the second round. Messi’s performance is not so well in the second game and didn’t help Barcelona advance into the semi-final. In the World Cup, Messi scored only 1 goal in 4 appearances, and Argentina failed to reach the quarterfinals. Therefore, it is not surprising that Messi is not in the final three of the three personal honor competitions (the UEFA Best, FIFA Best and Ballon d’Or).
The final 3 of Ballon d’Or in the last 12 years:
2007: Kaka, C. Ronaldo, Messi
2008: C. Ronaldo, Messi, Torres
2009: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Xavi
2010: Messi, Iniesta, Xavi
2011: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Xavi
2012: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Iniesta
2013: C. Ronaldo, Messi, Ribery
2014: C. Ronaldo, Messi, Neuer
2015: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Neymar
2016: C. Ronaldo, Messi, Griezmann
2017: C. Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar