“I Deserved to be Part…” Now Close to 8th Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi Gets Candid About Last Year’s Shocking Snub

Lionel Messi is set to make history as the Argentine is closing in on his 8th Ballon d’Or award. This will surely go down as one of the biggest comebacks in the history of the sport. Fans had ruled Messi out of the Ballon d’Or conversation after the ex-PSG star failed to even make it into the Top 30 nominees last season. With La Pulga closing in on the coveted award, he touched down on his snub last season.

Lionel Messi struggled to deliver for PSG following his move to the side in 2021. The Argentine made 34 appearances in his debut season with PSG managing just 26 goal contributions. However, La Pulga bounced back strong last season as he clinched the World Cup title with Argentina while generating 41 goal contributions in equal appearances for the Ligue 1 giants.

Messi unhappy with 2022 Ballon d’Or snub

Lionel Messi had a rough year in 2021 as the star failed to deliver following his move to PSG. La Pulga was seen visibly struggling during his first season with the club scoring just 11 goals in the entire season. The team had a horrendous Champions League campaign as they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Real Madrid.

Los Blancos, following their win over PSG, won the entire tournament, which helped Karim Benzema lift the Ballon d’Or award in 2022. While Benzema surely deserved the title, Lionel Messi did not even make it into the list of the top 30 nominees for the award. Two years following the incident, the former Barcelona star touched down on his snub from the rankings.

He said, “It was a difficult season, but maybe I deserved to be part of the top 30.”

Following the snub, the Argentine registered one of the best comebacks last year as he took the world by storm. The Argentine helped his nation to the final of the World Cup and defeated France in the biggest stage to clinch the World Cup title. Onto this year, how close is Lionel Messi to winning the Ballon d’Or?

Lionel Messi set to lift his 8th Ballon d’Or

La Albiceleste had a sensational campaign last year as they clinched the World Cup title by defeating defending champions France in the finals. Lionel Messi was undoubtedly the MVP of the tournament, with ten goal contributions. La Pulga was just one goal behind Kylian Mbappe, who finished as the top scorer in the tournament with eight goals.

Also Read: How Many FIFA World Cup Champions Have Won the Ballon d’Or as Lionel Messi Eyes His 8th?

The Argentine is the frontrunner to lift the Ballon d’Or award this season, which will see La Pulga clinch his record 8th title. The award is surely a statement of intent from Lionel Messi, who failed to even make it into the top 30 of the same award last season. While La Pulga will receive some competition for the title, reports from various media outlets have already declared him the potential winner.

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Lionel Messi is currently in strong contention to lift his eighth Ballon d’Or beating Manchester City star Erling Haaland. Do you think Messi deserves to win the award this season? Let us know in the comments below.