This year, Messi "slipped out" of the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or. Perhaps El Pulga wants to remind those with the nomination right that they made a big mistake to forget him just because he played in a tournament considered the second-class of world soccer - the US Major League Soccer. In two matches with two teams: one is the club, and the other is the national team, El Pulga "vented" his anger on his opponents with six goals and four assists, bringing two magnificent victories to his team. Messi's "brilliant" performance is his "reminder" to those who "forgot him".
So, did they actually forget Messi? The answer is no. Probably, The reason is the US Major League Soccer is not taken seriously by experts. Both the US Major League Soccer and Inter Miami FC were previously known only by the name David Beckham when he was still playing and was one of the owners of Inter Miami FC; not many soccer fans spent time on the matches, as well as following this tournament. In the soccer world, the US Major League Soccer is considered a tournament for not-so-popular players; if those players are famous, probably their era has gone or they are "about to retire" or "need money for old age".
Everything did changed only when Lionel joined Inter Miami FC. The entire soccer world, with billions of fans, knows and thanks Messi for the wonderful feelings he brings. Hence, they knew about Inter Miami FC and American soccer because of him. In fact, the people who nominated them also know this very well. However, perhaps they "cannot accept" choosing a player from a "normal" tournament to be included in the honor list. Their criteria are players playing in European or South American tournaments, which are considered the "harshest" in the world. Even though they know that no matter which tournament, if there is "El Pulga", he is still the "One".
Returning to Messi's story, the day El Pulga arrived at Inter Miami, Forbes magazine predicted that El Pulga's effect would help the American team double its value within a year. Specifically, the value of Inter Miami FC before Messi arrived was 600 million USD and now the value of the team has surpassed 1 billion USD. That is only the material value, what is much more important to Inter Miami FC is the expertise and results on the field. In 2023, after Messi arrived, Inter Miami FC immediately won the League Cup. This year, the club won in the Eastern region with a "destructive" energy. 74 points is a tournament record achieved by a team that was only established for about 7 years. Previously, this was probably considered "delusional", but since they owned Messi, anything is possible. The delusion became the reality.
Recently, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami FC received good news when the International Federation of Association Football - FIFA officially confirmed that Inter Miami will win a place to participate in the Club World Cup 2025 as a guest team. From now on, fans will again witness Messi "dancing" with the ball in front of the best players from top clubs in Europe and South America. And if Messi's "magic" feet can help Inter Miami FC win this tournament in 2025, perhaps FIFA should award him the Golden Ball until El Pulga retires without the annual vote.
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