Lionel Messi Left Off Nominees List for 2013-14 Best Striker in La Liga Award
He might have just celebrated 10 fantastic goalscoring years at Barcelona, but Lionel Messi has been omitted from the Spanish LFP Awards list for best striker in La Liga.
The LFP, which represents football in Spain, announced that the three players who will contest the award are Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Carlos Vela.
Messi is the holder of the award, having won the accolade in 2013, per Barcelona's official website.
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The news that Real Sociedad's Vela beat Messi to the nomination will have confused and angered many, but it highlights the perception that Messi lost his form last season.
But the statistics do not support such an argument.
The Mexican forward had his best-ever season in La Liga last year, scoring a strong return of 16 goals in 37 matches, per WhoScored.com.
But Messi far outperformed Vela in terms of goal count in 2013-14. The Argentina captain hit 28 goals in just 31 games, per WhoScored.com, though this is some way short of the 46 goals he scored in the previous year.
However, it feels as though Barcelona's shortcomings last year have caused Messi to miss out on an expected nomination.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid shared the silverware last season, and their two talisman goalscorers have rightfully been highlighted.
And sports journalist Nicholas Rigg recently quoted Galacticos boss Carlo Ancelotti about his thoughts of who will win the best striker's award:
Messi may have been in decline for many commentators last season, but Barca head coach Luis Enrique recently lauded the little magician in a news conference after a game against Granada:
"He is someone touched by a magic wand. I thought about taking him off for a rest, but you just want to enjoy watching him play, to see Leo pressing opponents, and being generous.
If Cristiano is Jordan, Messi is Wilt Chamberlain who scored 100 points in one NBA game. Ronaldo is a great player, but I will stick with Leo.
"
Despite being overlooked for this year's La Liga awards, Messi and Co. look a good bet to rectify last season's disappointments.
Barcelona are in somewhat of a transitional phase but will soon get the chance to pair Messi with Luis Suarez up front.
If that partnership explodes this season, there is every chance both players will be nominated for the award for best striker in 12 months' time.
Many will say Messi is not really a striker and is rather a goalscoring midfielder. Indeed, he is not a classical striker in the usual sense of the word, but his goalscoring exploits mean he probably should be considered ahead of a player such as Vela.
