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Barcelona playmaker, Lionel Messi, has been omitted from FIFA’s ‘The Best’ shortlist despite winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and finishing the 2017-18 season as the topscorer in Europe’s major leagues.
The three-man shortlist is comprised of Juventus forward,
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Ronaldo won the Champions League with Real Madrid for the third season in succession and finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 15 goals.
Modric was also part of Madrid’s Champions League triumph last season and captained Croatia in a successful World Cup outing, winning the golden ball award.
Salah helped lead Liverpool to the Champions League final and set a new Premier League record of 32 goals in a season.
This is the first time Messi, who had a disappointing World Cup with Argentina, will be left out of the top three best players since 2006.