Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi picked up the honors for Best Forward and Best Player at the La Liga awards ceremony.
For Messi, it is the FC Barcelona striker’s fifth consecutive year capturing the awards over rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, with whom Lionel is constantly mentioned when debating the best footballer in the world.
So what is the soccer world to do with two best players and one award for such an honor? Create another award, of course. Ronaldo was awarded the first-ever Most Valuable Player award at the La Liga ceremony as a remedy to the dilemma. It sounds like Cristiano would have preferred the awards Lionel Messi took home.
“It is an honor and privilege to receive this great award for the Most Valuable Player — it motivates me to keep working harder ,” Ronaldo said in his acceptance speech, via ESPN FC .
“I would like to thank the LFP and the Liga BBVA for this prize,” Messi said when accepting his awards. “It is a recognition of [his teammates] work all year and without them I would not have scored these goals.”
Lionel Messi is currently on the shelf with a torn hamstring in his left thigh. Having sustained the injury when Barcelona played Real Betis, Messi’s original prognosis said he would miss 6-8 weeks of action.
“The first phase of Messi’s recovery will be covered in Barcelona and he will then travel to Buenos Aires,” the club announced on its Web site .
The injury is Lionel Messi’s third of the year. Lionel was first injured in the Spanish Super Cup match against Atletico Madrid on August 21; he sat for a week. Messi then sustained a more serious muscle tear in his right thigh on September 28, when facing Almeria, for which he missed three weeks. Lionel Messi’s latest injury essentially puts him out for the remainder of the 2013 calendar year. Barca’s first match of 2014 is league action against Elche on January 5, week 18 of La Liga.
What do you think of Lionel Messi’s fifth consecutive Best Player award? Will Lionel Messi win FIFA’s Ballon d’Or? How will Barca fare with Lionel Messi on the sidelines?
