Messi & four other shocking omissions from The Best FIFA Men’s Player shortlist

FIFA have released their final shortlist for The Best Men’s Player Award. Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah are the three players nominated to receive FIFA’s individual award for the best player of last year/season. All three fabulous footballers whose feats deserve to be feted.

Cristiano scored a hatful of goals as Real Madrid won their third consecutive Champions League trophy, Mohamed Salah smashed broke a Premier League record and fired Liverpool to the Champions League final, and Luka Modric was Real Madrid’s beating heart as they won the Champions League before playing the same role to guide Croatia all the way to the 2018 World Cup Final.

But were they truly the three best players on the planet in the past year? There were some players whose cases to be included on that list were very strong indeed. Who are they? What were those cases? Read on and find out!

1. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid and France)

Antoine Griezmann quietly had an amazing year. Obviously he’s a world-class player but in many ways 2018 was an apology for the grand failure of his 2016, where he fluffed his lines in the Champions League and European Championship final.

Here he starred for Atleti in the Europa League, firing them to victory with two well-taken goals in the final against Marseille before, a couple months later, playing a key role as France won their second-ever World Cup. Griezmann scored four goals and set up a further two more with his set-pieces, always managing to turn up and deliver for his country when they needed him.

It seems inconceivable that someone could be so influential in two major tournaments (he scored and created a goal in the World Cup final for goodness sake!) and yet not receive mainstream recognition.

2. Kylian Mbappé (PSG and France)

The lethal French forward had a solid debut season with PSG, continuing his absurd ability to score or assist on a frighteningly regular basis. But it was at the World Cup where he really staked his claim for a world conqueror status.

Mbappé electrified an otherwise dull and lethargic France side with his phenomenal pace and trickery.

The 19-year-old became the first teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match since Pelé in 1958 when he blew Argentina away in the round of 16. He illuminated the semi-final with a defiantly delightful backheel and then equalled another Pelé milestone by scoring in the World Cup final.

As if that wasn’t enough, he’s begun this season in absurd form, scoring four times in three games. This kid is the real deal, a certified phenomenon and World Cup winner. King Kylmonger sits atop his throne and should be honoured and lauded by all his subjects.

3. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid and France)

Unsung heroes are hard to find in the white of Real Madrid because anyone who has been a part of Los Blancos’ amazing success over the last three years tends to amass a huge amount of love and adoration. But Raphael Varane may well be the closest thing we’ve got to one.

The French defender has been a towering figure at the heart of Real Madrid defences recently, and he was a massive presence as they won the Champions League this year, proving to be a solid partner to Sergio Ramos. And then the World Cup started and he took up that role for his country, too. Playing as the calm by-the-books cop to Samuel Umtiti’s wild-eyed maverick.

Varane was a huge part of why France were able to ride their defence all the way to World Cup victory. He never wavered, never looked panicked. Moreover, he even scored a huge header in the quarter-final win over the colossal Uruguay. Varane is a defensive titan whose contributions to the season’s two biggest cup victories need to be acknowledged

4. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)

You have to feel for Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players; they play so well that the Premier League becomes a procession, but instead of being lauded for dominating so thoroughly, people overlook or downplay their achievement because it was “just a league.”

Kevin De Bruyne, in particular, was City’s best player and the finest in the Premier League too. He ran the show in the middle of the park for the Sky Blues, controlling the defence and attack whilst stepping forward to hammer home goals and assists.

When the World Cup rolled around, De Bruyne was equally focal as he drove his nation all the way into the semi-finals and then saw them finish the tournament in third, their highest-ever finish. City need some recognition, and De Bruyne is the perfect vehicle for that.

5. Leo Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)

For the first time since 2006, Lionel Messi is not in the final three. What more is there to say?

In the wake of Neymar’s departure, Ousmane Dembélé’s injury and Luis Suárez’s poor form, Leo Messi was leading a Barcelona side where his third-most reliable goalscorer was Paulinho. He put the entire team on his shoulders, playing as their creative central midfielder, their dynamic no. 10 and their lethal goalscoring forward.

And he was absurdly successful in doing all of that. Messi tops just about every metric possible for the Spanish top flight.

He guided Barcelona to a remarkable title win where the club lost just once, the only game Messi didn’t play in. Yeah, that’s right, he went an entire league season without losing. He also lifted his side to win their fourth-consecutive Copa del Rey. He played magnificent and mesmeric football whilst under absurd pressure to deliver, and not only did he deliver, he did it better than anyone else.

People who champion his exclusion will point to the Champions League, where Barcelona crashed out to Roma because of Valverde’s tactical absurdity, and the World Cup, where Argentina struggled as a collective and Messi did so as an individual. But given the talent deficiencies on both the Blaugrana and the Albiceleste, Messi performed miracles to get them as far as he did.

Conclusion

All the exclusions here have great cases to be included in the final shortlist, most likely ahead of Mohamed Salah whose goals were amazing but ultimately resulted in nothing but their own glory.

But one of these players is clearly more deserving of a spot (inasmuch as an individual can “deserve” an award in a team sport – obviously it’s hard to divorce any player from the context of his team). We shouldn’t take Messi’s genius for granted just because he does it so consistently; he’s the best player in the world, so he should be nominated for The Best award.