The Barca forward will miss Monday's The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony.

Contrary to initial reports, Barcelona and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi will not be present at Monday's The Best FIFA Football Awards gala. The event which will be held at London Royal Festival Hall was expected to be graced by the presence of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

Nonetheless, multiple reports have indicated that Lionel Messi has decided not to attend the event despite initially accepting the invitation. According to Spanish publication AS, the 33-year-old forward attributed his no-show to "personal reasons".

Lionel Messi missed out on the three-man shortlist for this the 2018 Best Men's Player Award but will be in contention to win the Puskas Award as well as secure a spot in the FIFA FIFPro XI. His decision to be absent comes after Cristiano Ronaldo also decided not to be present at the ceremony.

The Portuguese forward who will be rivaling Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah for the coveted award in the males' category played in Juventus' 2-0 win over Frosinone on Sunday. With the Bianconeri set to take on Bologna in midweek, a trip to and from London will apparently not be ideal for the Portuguese forward who is expected to lead the lines once again.