The organisers of the Ballon d'Or have explained why Lionel Messi missed out on a nomination for the award for the first time since 2005.
The 30 nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or were named on Friday, with the seven-time winner being snubbed from the candidates list for the first time in 17 years.
Seemingly in an attempt to provide transparency to those confused by Messi's absence from the nominees list, France Football held a recent QA in which they were asked to explain the Argentine being overlooked.
"Inevitably, Lionel Messi, with his 15 appearances in a row since 2006, his seven Ballon d'Or victories, his title holder status, weighs very heavily when it comes to the final choice," the organisers said, according to 90min.
"The Argentinian was part of the discussions to integrate the 30, but the new criteria for the Ballon d'Or were unfavourable to him: disappearance of the criterion of a player's entire career, and new periodicity, modelled on a season of football and no longer over a calendar year, which does not make it possible to integrate the Copa America of July 11, 2021.
"And then, it must be admitted that his first season in Paris was very disappointing both in terms of the visual impression and the statistics."
Messi scored just 11 goals in his debut season at Paris Saint-Germain, but has started the 2022/23 in impressive form, having contributed to four strikes in three matches so far.
