Back in the golden days of the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, we knew which one of them was going to win an award if the other footballer decided to snub an awards ceremony. Today, we have been given a huge hint on who will not win the 2023 FIFA The Best Award.
Reports coming in from South America state that Messi, the two-time winner of this trophy, will not be attending the gala set to be held in London. The reason for Messi's snub was to keep preparing for the upcoming 2024 MLS season, where he will try to lead Inter Miami to their first-ever MLS Cup title.
Messi was announced as a finalist to win the award last week, joined by Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. Now, with the Argentine away, it seems that the winner of this award will be either the Frenchman or the Norwegian ace.
Prior to tonight's gala, Messi is one of three players to win the accolade two times. The first one to accomplish that feat was Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it in 2016 and 2017. Years later, Robert Lewandowski took the trophy home in 2020 and 2021. Messi won in 2019 and once more in 2022, and judging by his decision not to make the trip to London this year, it seems that he will remain level with CR7 and the Polish ace.
Watch the full gala on Monday wherever you live by checking all official TV listings and streaming info here.
