Lionel Messi’s Silence Speaks Volumes on Erling Haaland’s FIFA Best Snub Amid Ronaldo’s Jabs

• Lionel Messi is yet to publicly acknowledge his latest win at the 2023 FIFA Best ceremony
• The Inter Miami forward beat Man City's Erling Haaland to the award rather controversially
• The award brought to the foe the parameters the voters used to settle on the final winner

Approximately six days after FIFA organised its 2023 Best Awards, Lionel Messi is yet to publicly accept his award. The silence has been as deafening and controversial as the award itself.

It's not like the Argentine took a social media break and forgot to flaunt his latest trophy. Since Thierry Henry accepted the award on his behalf at the Apollo Centre on January 15, Messi has shared three posts - an ad for Adidas and Apple TV and one for Inter Miami's start of pre-season friendlies.

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Messi yet to speak after 2023 FIFA Best win

A quick check at the previous times Messi has won individual awards shows that the 36-year-old often shared a post of gratitude thanking his teammates, the organisers of the award and whoever voted for him. Heck, he even uploaded a photo of his top scorer and best player awards in the 2023 Leagues Cup with Miami.

So why the silence after winning arguably the best individual award after the Ballon d'Or?

He was adjudged to be the best player of 2023, beating young hotshots in Erling Haaland and his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Kylian Mbappe.

It is no secret that the former Barcelona captain rode on his 2022 World Cup triumph with Argentina to win all the individual awards in 2023, including a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or. Deservedly.

But him being declared the best player of 2023 painted the whole process by the world governing body as a sham or, to put it loosely, 'rigged.'

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FIFA's website expressly stated that the award would be given based on what players had achieved between December 19, 2022 and August 20, 2023.

The World Cup final in Qatar was held on December 18.

Messi's 2023 compared to Haaland's

From December 19 onwards, Messi only won the Ligue 1 trophy and the aforementioned Leagues Cup after moving to North America. This is completely dwarfed by what Haaland achieved in the same timeframe, whichever way you look at it.

Apart from plundering in a million goals (Pep Guardiola's words), the Norwegian won the treble, which included the elusive Champions League title for Manchester City.

The final score for the awards had the two tied at 48 points a piece, but Messi was declared the winner for having more first-place votes according to the Rules of Allocation.

John Obi-Mikel, a member of FIFA's technical team who whittled down the initial list of nominees to three, had a feeble, embarrassing moment trying to explain why the World Cup-winning captain deserved the award. The Nigerian icon introduced the term 'calendar year', but FIFA's guidelines automatically shut down his argument.

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With the constant 'robbery' claims every time an individual award is held, FIFA provided fodder to the Messi detractors, casting doubt on some of his previous wins. The 2010 ceremony, where Wesley Sneijder was denied the Ballon d'Or, features prominently on the most controversial awards of all time.

His nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, spewing 'factos' and 'sarcastic emojis' comments to dilute his achievements doesn't do much to help either.

Lothar Matthaus on Messi's win

Lothar Matthaus, one of the legends backing Messi in the eternal GOAT debate, summarised it perfectly.

"He can't be the winner this time. I think he was the best footballer of the last 20 years, but he has been in Paris and Miami, where he is now creating hype, and not won any major titles," he told Sky Sports Germany.

Also, to the captains and national team coaches, if winning the treble while playing in a league considered the best in the world doesn't get you the FIFA Beast award, then I don't know what does.

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After all is said and done, many would agree that Messi did not deserve the award based on what Haaland achieved. Maybe not even finish in the top three.

And with his 'refusal' so far to accept the award publicly, one tends to think that he agrees. No?