*LONDON - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi faces the worst setback as he has been left out from the FIFA player of the year award after 12 years.*
*He was left off the shortlist for FIFA’s Player of the Year award for the first time in 12 years.*
* Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were named as the three finalists.*
Although Messi won the Spanish league title with Barca last season, the 31-year-old had an unhappy World Cup, missing a penalty against Iceland and scoring only once in four games as they were knocked out in the last 16.
Messi, who last failed to make the final three nominees in 2006, has won the award, in its various guises, five times and finished runner-up on another six occasions.