Ballon d'Or organisers explain Messi snub
Messi was not included in the 30-player Ballon d'Or shortlist.
Neymar, Messi's teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, was left off of the list of contenders when it was made public on Friday.
Messi, the Ballon d'Or winner from the previous year, left Barcelona last summer to join PSG, where he won the Ligue 1 championship in just his first season.
He gave Manchester United seven points in the Champions League group stage with four impromptu goals.