‘Messi award exclusion meaningless’

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez believes teammate Lionel Messi’s exclusion from FIFA’s three-man The Best shortlist ‘means nothing’.

The Argentine star was a surprise exclusion from the shortlist which includes Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.

“I don't think that any award [Messi] does or doesn't win takes anything away from what he has won and what he keeps on achieving,” Suarez told ESPN FC.

“It's just like when I was scoring goals and deserved (to win) things, I was above all that. You prove yourself by working hard, with what you do in every game.

“The prizes that are worth more are the ones you win on the pitch. An example of that is being top scorer: no one can take that away from you because you won it with the goals you scored, proving yourself on the pitch, not because of a vote by players and journalists.

“There are times when you don't even need to look at him because you know he is going to put the ball where you want it.

“There are times when you see a space that you can take advantage of and you don't even have to tell him because he's already seen it.

“That's why, for many people, and for me, he is the best player in history, because of what he signifies as a player and for what he's done in the game.

“You don't need to tell him anything because he sees everything.”

Tags Lionel Messi Luis Suarez
La Liga - Club News