Last year, Lionel Messi became the first MLS-based player to win the Ballon d’Or after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022.
He has enjoyed more international success this year, captaining Argentina to the Copa America title in July, and has featured in a record-breaking regular season for Inter Miami — but he did not make it onto the top 30 shortlist. Why?
First, the people compiling the men’s shortlist — editorial staff at France Football and French sports newspaper L’Equipe, last year’s “best judge” (Costa Rica for the men’s award) and a UEFA ambassador (Luis Figo) — believed other players performed better.
Messi’s stats aren’t too shabby for the period in question — August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024 — with 22 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Inter Miami, who he helped win the 2024 Supporters’ Shield.
But injury heavily curtailed his game time, and the quality of MLS is widely regarded as inferior to Europe’s biggest leagues, which would have played a major part in Messi, 37, dropping out. Simply put: others have played more and performed better in tougher leagues.
