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FIFA Respond To Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo Not Attending 'The Best' Awards

FIFA Respond To Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo Not Attending 'The Best' Awards

They didn't take it well..

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Much to the annoyance of FIFA, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not attend 'The Best ' awards in London on Monday.

Messi had initially accepted the invitation but he informed Barcelona that he would not be absent due to personal reasons, while Ronaldo gave it a miss due to having a midweek game with Juventus on the Wednesday.

The pair were both named in the FIFPro World XI but the no-show was a big blow to FIFA and is said to have angered president Gianni Infantino.

And according to AS, he is trying to make it so its compulsory for every nominated finalists to be in attendance for the award ceremony - instructing the governing body's lawyers so that all the big names are all turning up.

Of course, plenty of the finalists were there at the Royal Festival Hall to see Luka Modric scoop the Men's Best Player Award but it wasn't the same without Messi and Ronaldo, the two titans of world football.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Fabio Capello and Diego Forlan both took issue with the duo swerving the awards, the latter saying the following: "It's a pity. Messi attended the gala last year and he didn't win.

"It's an event of every player and it's important to be here. No matter who wins. A player has to show with his attitude and actions, because they are a model for the world."

Given they both captain their respective nations, both Messi and Ronaldo had their say in the voting for the main prize.

Ronaldo picked two of his former Real Madrid colleagues in his top three: Raphael Varane and Luka Modric were his first and second selections respectively, with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann slotting in as his final pick.

Messi, on the other hand, did give props to Ronaldo by selecting him third but went for the victorious Modric in first place and World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe in second.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: FIFA, Lionel Messi, The Best, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianni Infantino