5 Players that Deserved to be Nominated for UEFA Player of the Year 2017/18

#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona / Argentina)

A goal celebration we are becoming accustomed to in El Clasico

When it came to LaLiga, there was clearly no better player in the league. Lionel Messi simply dominated the Spanish top flight like it was child's play.

Picture this; he led the stats in all of the following. 33 goals (1st), 12 assists (1st), 84 chances created (1st), 174 successful dribbles (1st). What made him so indispensable to the club was the fact that they struggled when he was rested.

Messi had to rescue the Catalan side time and again and almost helped them win the league unbeaten. 38 games - 28 wins, 9 draws, and just a single loss. He took home the European Golden Shot too for his 34 league goals.

But the main reason he isn't among the top three is due to Barcelona's poor form in the Champions League and their premature exit in the quarter-finals. Argentina didn't fare too well either at the World Cup, with Messi and co dumped out by France in the Round of 16.

This isn't the first time Messi has missed out on the top three. It was the case in 2015/16 and 2013/14 too - incidentally two years where Barcelona struggled in Europe.