Lionel Messi Ditches 2023 The Best FIFA Ceremony as Erling Haaland Favorite to Win Over Kylian Mbappe: Reports

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi is one of the most decorated soccer players. He has won several trophies for his achievements, including the elusive World Cup, for which he won the men’s best player last year. This year, he is again one of the three nominees for men’s best player. But rumors suggest that he could miss out on winning at the best FIFA ceremony. Therefore, reports suggest that La Pulga will give the ceremony a miss. There are suggestions that the Manchester City star striker, Erling Haaland, could win the award.

La Pulga missing such an important awards ceremony will attract criticism from rival fans and experts. It looks like the World Cup winner in recent days has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

Lionel Messi takes a drastic step ahead of the best FIFA ceremony

In the last few months, Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticized for missing award ceremonies. However, it looks like this time it could be the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner. According to D Sports, Argentina, Lionel Messi will not attend the Best FIFA awards ceremony today. The World Cup winner has not traveled to London for the gala. This is despite him being nominated for the best player. The report also comes after earlier news suggested that Erling Haaland could win the award over Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

The Argentinian star has won two awards previously for the best men’s player in 2019 and 2022. Hence, the 36-year-old giving the award ceremony a miss will certainly raise more than a few eyebrows. Meanwhile, there is a case to make for Erling Haaland being a deserved winner. When a player moves from another league to the English Premier League, it can take players a while to adapt. But not only did Haaland hit the ground running, but also scored 52 goals across all competitions, playing a key role in Manchester City’s successful treble. For his goals and treble win last season, he won the Gerd Muller trophy. The Norway international also finished second in the Ballon d’Or race behind Lionel Messi. And this season, he’s continued his prolific goal scoring form, only to be hindered by an injury.

Mbappe, also one of the 3 nominees, has continued to impress, even remaining on Real Madrid’s radar as a top transfer target.

The Inter Miami star missing the awards show will certainly surprise the fans. However, this is certainly not the first time the Argentinian forward has decided to give it a miss.

La Pulga made the headlines several years ago for the same reason

The same incident occurred seven years ago during the FIFA Best 2016 ceremony. The awards ceremony took place on 9th January 2017 in Zurich. However, interestingly, Lionel Messi and Neymar gave it a miss. Rumors started flying around that he did not come because Cristiano Ronaldo won the award. But his club at that time, FC Barcelona, immediately dismissed the rumors.

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The Spanish giants revealed the real reason behind La Pulga’s absence. The Argentinian and Brazilian gave it a miss because the club wanted them to be fully fit for the game against Athletic Club.

It will be interesting to see what Lionel Messi has to say about missing it this year. Do you think Erling Haaland is the deserved winner? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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