Messi's unexpected decision that proves he will probably lose The Best Award

This Monday will be held in London the ceremony of The Best awards. This event has been organized by FIFA since 2016 to compete with France Football magazine's Ballon d'Or and has gradually gained prestige and importance. The winners are chosen by the vote of the skippers and coaches of the world's 211 national teams, in addition to journalists and fans from all continents.

More news about The Best:

The Best awards will be presented this Monday: who is Messi competing against?

Lionel Messi is the latest winner of the World Player of the Year award. He received it in February 2023, mainly thanks to his success with the Argentina national team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. And this year again he is among the finalists. Alongside him are Kylian Mbappé, who shone with Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team, and Erling Haaland, star of Treble-winners Manchester City.

However, this time it looks like Leo won't be the winner. Reports indicate that Haaland is the overwhelming favorite to take the award, having led the Citizens to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles, as well as having scored 50 goals in 60 games during 2023. And an unexpected decision by the Argentine forward reveals that he himself knows he won't win.

Messi did not travel to London this Monday to be present at The Best ceremony, unlike last year, when he had attended. The official explanation is that he preferred to stay in the United States so as not to miss any training with Inter Miami, with whom he started preseason last week. But this is not convincing, since in October, in a similar situation, he was authorized by the club to travel to Paris to receive the Ballon d'Or.

More news about Lionel Messi:

You won't believe the decision made by this MLS team before facing Messi's Inter Miami

Who are the favorites?

In addition to Erling Haaland, in the other categories there are also favorites to win the award. Aitana Bonmatí, star of Barcelona and the Spanish national team, is the most likely to win the award for the best female player in the world. In addition, Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Chelsea's Emma Hayes are the favorites to win the best coach award.