Its your opinion that he was the best player and that is fine. Are they seriously going to say, we are going to give the best player award not to someone who shone at the biggest tournaments but to someone who beat up on teams in a spanish league but failed at the top level competitions.
Look, Ronaldo scored more against the top 8 teams in la liga, scored more in the world cup, scored most in the CL but Messi beat the shit out of the bottom 12 la liga cannon fodder, so he was the best player in the world. And on that note I give up
The best player of the year award should go to the best player of the year. Regardless of who he scored against, he scored more and assisted more goals than every single professional footballer on earth in the year 2018. 8 goals and 1 assist in 5 Champions League games. 1 goal and 2 assists in 4 World Cup games.
This year alone:
Most goals scored than any other professional player in all competitions.
Best goals to game ratio in all competitions.
Most goals scored from set pieces.
Most assists in all competitions.
Most key passes and chances created in all competitions.
More dribbles and take-ons completed than anyone else.
No one got more assists than Messi at the World Cup
La Liga winner
Didn't lose a single league game he played in (36 out of 38 games)
Copa del Rey winner
La Liga Top Goalscorer
La Liga Player of the Year
European Golden Boot
Let's compare that to the 3 in who DID make it ahead of him:
Antoine Griezmann:
29 goals scored
7 assists.
Europa League winner
World Cup winner
4 goals and 2 assists in 7 games at the World Cup
No one got more assists than Griezmann at the World Cup
Raphael Varane:
Champions League winner
World Cup winner
Most headed clearances at the World Cup
Finished 3rd in La Liga
Luka Modric:
2 goals and 7 assist in all competitions last season for Real Madrid
2 goals and 1 assist at the World Cup
Champions League winner
2nd place at the World Cup
Won possession in the midfield third more times than anyone at the World Cup
Finished 3rd in La Liga
..
.
But no, Messi cannot be considered the best player of the year 2018 because Argentina didn't get further in the World Cup and Barcelona only got to the quarter finals of the Champions League. It doesn't matter what HE as an individual done.
I wonder why Khedira never won the 2014 Ballon d'Or. He was arguably the best player of the tournament in the 2014 World Cup (in which Germany won) and started in the Champions League final in which they won too.
To be fair out of the 3 listed. Modric should be finishing 3rd based on accomplishments. Griezmann should probably win it if we're basing on importance of goals scored and what he's won.
It's crazy that Messi can put up these numbers (Freakish numbers that no one will EVER provide once he's retired) yet not be considered one of the 3 best players in world football.
To be fair, Ronaldos numbers stack up considerably well to Messi's too. Ronaldo was involved in ONE more goal than Messi at the World Cup and got to the exact same stage in the tournament. Messi has scored 1 more goal than him overall this year but has more assists. Ronaldo won 1 team trophy, Messi won 2. It could have gone either way between the two.
It's an outrage both aren't up for it.