Barcelona will not be sending representatives to support Lionel Messi at this year's award ceremony for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Messi's Behaviour Is Nothing New
The Catalan giants have decided to protest their transfer ban by boycotting this year's ceremony in Zurich and will leave Messi to discover the results of this year's vote for the prestigious award elsewhere.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld FIFA's decision to hand the club a ban from participating in transfer activity for the next two windows after the club breached protocol for signing players under the age of 18.
As a result, Barcelona will be giving the world football governing body the cold shoulder and club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that he will not be maintaining a relationship with FIFA.
"Fifa has not told us who made the original charge and during the period of the sanction we will not maintain any institutional relations with them," he said at a press conference.
"I have sent a stern letter to Sepp Blatter and I will not be attending the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala set for January 12.
"This is not the end of the matter. I foresee the Barca case becoming a watershed in the football world, just like the Bosman case. However long it lasts, we will not lose this case."
While Messi is the only Barcelona player in the running for the Ballon d'Or, Claudio Bravo, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Neymar will also not be present in case they are named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI.
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