On Friday, UEFA revealed the final three for the Best Player in Europe award. The announcement came with huge shock, as both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were overlooked for the 2016 prize.
The omission of the Barca duo has several guessing whether this is a glimpse into their Ballon d’Or hopes, as both the Argentine and Uruguayan were hopeful of getting nominations.
It didn’t take too long for one of team-mate of Messi and Suarez to speak out against their exclusion. That man was none other than Andres Iniesta, with the Spaniard admitting he would have chosen differently.
As quoted by Marca, the World Cup winner said to reporters: "Everyone has their reasons and people vote for who they consider to be the best.
"I had put other players on that list, but each person has their own opinion."
Suarez, who beat Cristiano to last season’s Pichichi award, came in fourth with 29 points. Messi, having helped Argentina to the Copa America Centenario final, finished in fifth with 25 points.
4 Suárez – 29 points
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 5, 2016
5 Messi – 25
6 Buffon – 19
7 Pepe – 9
8 Neuer – 6
9 Kroos – 5
10 Müller – 2#UEFABestPlayer pic.twitter.com/doDfAIB110
Iniesta also touched on the topic of the Blaugrana’s competitive midfield, one which recently welcomed Denis Suarez, However, the 32-year-old had a positive take on this matter.
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