FC Barcelona: Leo Messi Nominated for Time Magazine 2011 Person of the Year

Leo Messi is among the 32 people nominated for the Time Magazine 2011 Person of the Year Award. The news was published in the FC Barcelona website.

Time Magazine will make its final choice in December 2011 from a list that includes Silvio Berlusconi and Steven Jobs. Time commented on how Messi took world football to places beyond the routine commercial success.

The magazine commented about children in the USA going to school wearing the FC Barcelona shirt. I can testify to that, since it is seen every day here in Miami, Florida.

Time also commented on how Messi scored his 200th goal with FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League match against Viktoria Pilsen. The magazine went on to comment about Messi winning the World Player of the Year award for the third time.

I would like to congratulate Time Magazine on the nomination of Leo Messi for its 2011 Person of the Year Award. Whether Leo Messi wins the award or not, the nomination proves that world football has established a foothold in North America.

I would like to go further by stating that FC Barcelona draws a lot of crowds in its matches in the U.S. The biggest example was the North American tour of Washington, D.C., Miami and Texas during the summer of 2011.

When FC Barcelona faced Chivas of Guadalajara at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida, the match became a world record, with more than 70,080 people attending the match. The attendance was the largest in the state of Florida.

It remains to be seen whether Messi wins this award, but he deserves it.