Barcelona players to skip the FIFA Football Awards gala

The FIFA Football Awards is right around the corner, set to take place today – on Monday. With an actual gala being held, instead of a mere announcement as France Football did with the Ballon d’Or, fans can see some of football’s biggest names strut the red carpet.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest names in the beautiful game, Lionel Messi, will be a no-show. He will join Neymar and all his other Barcelona team-mates on the list of players to turn down their invitation. 

The Blaugrana announced on Wednesday that none of their player will be attending the gala. The club, instead, chose to focus on a very crucial fixture coming up: their second-leg Copa del Rey tie with Athletic Bilbao.

The Catalan giants will host the Basque club after a controversial 2-1 loss in which Athletic had two players sent off and Barcelona were denied a penalty. The return leg will be played at Camp Nou, meaning the odds still favor Messi and Co. to progress.

"With the aim of prioritising the preparation of Wednesday's match against Athletic Club, FC Barcelona has decided that players recognised for 'The Best' FIFA Awards, held this afternoon in Zurich, will not attend,” Barcelona wrote in a statement. 

"Barcelona is thankful to FIFA and the president Gianni Infantino, but they consider important the game against Athletic Club and they want their players to rest."

Luis Enrique, who missed out on the three-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, will also not attend. Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu as well as several other Barcelona officials will be present in Zurich, however.

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