Messi missed out on prestigious award, but the winner was not Haaland or Mbappé

Lionel Messi has dominated soccer's individual awards for the past 15 years. No other player, contemporary or before him, has been voted the best in the world so many times over the course of his professional career, receiving almost unanimous praise from colleagues and rival coaches. They highlight not only the obvious, his talent and competitive spirit on the field, but also his humility, simplicity and generosity off the field.

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Leo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009, after leading Barcelona to the Champions League title, and never stopped since. France Football magazine awarded him seven more times (the last of them in October 2023, thanks to his excellent performances with the Argentine National Team in the Qatar 2022 World Cup), becoming the most winner in history and surpassing by far the second, Cristiano Ronaldo. And he was also a three-time recipient of FIFA's The Best award.

Now he had the chance to win a new trophy, the People's Choice Awards. It was the sixth edition of this event, which rewards the most outstanding stars in film, TV, music and sports. The ceremony was held in Los Angeles on Sunday and was attended by celebrities such as Billie Eillish, Tom Hiddleston, Lenny Kravitz and Adam Sandler.

Lionel Messi was nominated in the category Athlete of the Year. However, there were no other soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé or Erling Haaland, but mostly athletes who shine in America: basketball players Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Sabrina Ionescu, tennis player Cori Gauff and gymnast Simone Biles. The eventual winner was Travis Kelce, star of the Kansas City Chiefs who won the NFL title recently.

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He has other goals

Despite losing the award, Lionel Messi is surely focused on other matters. This Wednesday he will make his debut for Inter Miami in the 2024 Major League Soccer season against Real Salt Lake at DRV PNK Stadium. And next month The Herons will begin their participation in the CONCACAF Champions League.