PSG star Lionel Messi is SNUBBED by Ligue 1 as ‘Player of the Season’ 2021-22 nominees are released… and it is the first year the Barcelona legend has not been shortlisted for a top award since 2009!
- The shortlist for Ligue 1’s Player of the Season award have been revealed
- Lionel Messi is not in the running though team-mate Kylian Mbappe is
- The Argentine superstar has scored just four league goals in his first year at PSG
- Messi has been shortlisted for a top award every year since the 2008-09 season
Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi has been snubbed by Ligue 1 after the nominees for the Player of the Season was announced.
Messi’s team-mate Kylian Mbappe will be hoping to clinch the prize for the third time running and the Frenchman will be up against Monaco striker Wissam Ben Yedder, Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet, Lyon’s Brazilian star Lucas Paqueta and Martin Terrier of Rennes.
It comes as no surprise that the Argentine superstar has been left out due to his underwhelming debut season in the French capital.
Lionel Messi has not been shortlisted for a top award for the first time since 2009
Kylian Mbappe, unlike Messi, has made the shortlist for Ligue 1’s Player of the Season award
During his legendary stint at Barcelona, it was unheard of for Messi not to be in the running for a top prize, as he was shortlisted for a domestic award every year since 2009.
Since the LaLiga awards were established during the 2008-09 campaign, the 34-year-old was voted ‘Best Player’ in nine out of 13 seasons.
He was also voted the league’s ‘Best Forward’ on 11 occasions, only beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14 and Karim Benzema in 2019-20.
Ronaldo and Benzema also claimed ‘Best Player’ in those years, though Messi still made the shortlist, finishing third in 2014 and second in 2020.
At Barcelona, Messi won a staggering ten LaLiga titles, four Champions Leagues and seven Ballon d’Or gongs.
Messi won nine ‘Best Player’ and eleven ‘Best Forward’ of the year awards while at Barcelona
After moving to Paris at the end of his contract at the Catalan giants, many had expected him to dominate Ligue 1.
However, that has been far from the case as he has only scored four goals in 23 Ligue 1 appearances.
It is the least number of league goals he has scored in a season since 2004-05 when he first broke into the Barcelona team.
Messi has won many prizes in his glittering career thanks to his exploits at Barcelona (pictured with Marca’s Alfredo Di Stefano Trophy for best player of LaLiga during the 2017-18 season
Messi has his lowest goal tally in a domestic league since his debut season at Barcelona
Messi fared slightly better in the Champions League, scoring five goals in seven appearances.
PSG though were booted out of the tournament thanks to their second-half collapse to Real Madrid in a 3-2 aggregate defeat.
In the aftermath of their 3-1 second-leg defeat in Madrid, Messi, along with team-mate Neymar were jeered by their own supporters in Ligue 1 games.
Neymar has also struggled this season with just 11 goals in all competitions while Mbappe has undoubtedly been the star of the team with 35 goals in 43 appearances.