Understanding the Voting Paradox Behind Messi and the FIFA Puskas Award
The Seven Nominations That Yielded Zero Trophies
You would think that scoring over eight hundred career goals—dozens of them straight out of a video game—would guarantee at least one cabinet spot for FIFA's premier goal-scoring honor. Yet here we are. FIFA inaugurated the accolade back in 2009 to celebrate the most aesthetically significant goal of the calendar year, regardless of division or gender. Messi was shortlisted in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. No other footballer in history comes close to that level of sustained brilliance across a decade. Except that consistency doesn't always equal silverware in democratic voting systems.
His first snub came after a breathtaking solo slalom against Real Zaragoza in March 2010, where he shook off three defenders with sheer acceleration before slotted home. Next came his delicate chip and volley over Manuel Almunia against Arsenal in the 2011 Champions League, an effort that finished second to Neymar's Santos solo run. And who could forget his iconic 2015 Copa del Rey final strike against Athletic Bilbao? He received the ball near the right touchline, bypassed four defenders in a phone booth, and blasted it near-post. It was nominated, heavily favored, and yet it still lost.
How the Selection Mechanics Evolved Over the Years
Where it gets tricky is looking at how FIFA actually tally the votes. Between 2009 and 2018, the outcome relied 100% on public fan voting on FIFA's official website. That setup created an environment ripe for internet campaigns, national block-voting, and underdog rallies. Fans didn't just pick the best goal; they voted for emotional storylines. Because Messi was already sweeping Ballon d'Or trophies year after year, neutral supporters felt little urgency to give him another prize. (Honestly, it's unclear if FIFA realized how much fan apathy toward megastars would shape the outcome.)
The Mechanics of Voting Bias: Why Fan Ballots Drove the Puskas Away from Messi
The Narrative of the Underdog and the Wendell Lira Effect
That brings us straight to the infamous 2015 award ceremony. Messi's goal against Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou was widely considered by pundits to be a top-three goal of the entire century. But Brazilian forward Wendell Lira—a player who was unemployed shortly before the voting opened—scored a stunning bicycle kick for Goianesia against Atletico Goianiense in front of barely three thousand spectators. Brazil's massive internet community rallied behind Lira, turning the poll into a life-changing cause for an unsung hero. Lira captured 46.7% of the total vote, comfortably beating Messi's 33.3%.
And you can't really blame the voters. That changes everything when a fan poll morphs into a crusade to change a humble player's life. But from a pure technical standpoint, Messi's solo masterpiece was discarded in favor of collective internet activism. The issue remains that a fan-driven system prioritizes heartstring narratives over pure skill.
The Shift to Expert Panels and Split Fan Support
Because of the controversy surrounding several fan-voted editions, FIFA tweaked the rules in 2016. They introduced a hybrid system where a panel of FIFA Legends—retired icons like Marco van Basten and Didier Drogba—counted for 50% of the vote while the public held the other 50%. Did that help Messi? Not really. By the time 2019 arrived, Messi delivered a sublime, delicate lob against Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarin—a shot so ridiculous that even the opposition home fans stood up to applaud him. Yet, Hungarian teenager Daniel Zsori snatched the 2019 Puskas Award with a 93rd-minute overhead kick on his professional debut for Debrecen. Experts disagree on whether the panel truly weighted technical difficulty or simply succumbed to the late-game drama of Zsori's strike.
The Aesthetics Debate: Solo Runs Versus Acrobatic Spectacle
Overhead Kicks, Bicycle Scissoring, and Gravity-Defying Volleys
There is an inherent bias in football fandom toward acrobatic violence. A bicycle kick or an unhinged 35-yard screamer looks explosive in a two-second GIF—whereas Messi’s trademark solo runs require watching six seconds of subtle body feints, spatial awareness, and balance. Look at Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s 30-yard overhead kick against England in 2012 or Mohamed Salah’s curling derby goal against Everton in 2018. Voters love raw physical spectacle over methodical dribbling finesse. A player launching themselves upside down into the air triggers an instant dopamine hit that a calculated, low-center-of-gravity glide past three defenders rarely matches on initial viewing.
Comparing Messi to Other Snubbed Legends in Puskas History
When Greatness Becomes Everyday Normalcy
We're far from it being a Messi-only phenomenon, though his case is certainly the most egregious. Consider the "greatness tax." When a player scores thirty incredible goals a season for fifteen consecutive years, the human brain normalizes their brilliance. When Messi scored his chip against Real Betis in 2019, the collective reaction was essentially: "Well, of course he did, he's Messi." But if a center-back or an unknown teenager does something similar once in their career, it feels like a glitch in the matrix—and people rush to vote for it.
Because he raised the baseline of human football ability so high, a Messi goal had to be twice as extraordinary to evoke the same emotional shockwave as a goal from anyone else. Hence, his standard of normal was treated as routine, while extraordinary moments from others were treated as historic miracles.
Common Mistakes and Misconceptions About Messi's Puskás Record
Myth 1: Messi Never Scored a Goal Worthy of the Puskás Award
People often assume that Lionel Messi failed to claim the trophy simply because his goals lacked the jaw-dropping flare required for global recognized awards. That narrative collapses immediately under scrutiny. Messi holds the record for most Puskas nominations in football history, racking up seven distinct nominations between 2010 and 2019 without a single victory. His iconic solo run against Athletic Bilbao in the 2015 Copa del Rey final remains one of the most mechanically incredible strikes ever captured on camera. Why did Messi not get the Puskas Award for that magical moment? The problem is that casual fans confuse aesthetic absurdity with raw structural difficulty. A acrobatic bicycle kick from an underdog always looks more miraculous on a two-minute clip than a genius who glides past four defenders like they are standing still.
Myth 2: FIFA Rigged the Voting System Against Him
Conspiracy theories flood online forums whenever elite icons miss out on individual silverware. Fans routinely claim FIFA altered voting algorithms or blocked the Argentine legend to promote lesser-known leagues. Except that the reality of the ballot box was completely opposite. For almost a decade, the FIFA Puskas Award relied entirely on public online voting. Massive viral internet campaigns orchestrated by passionate global fanbases heavily swayed the totals. When Brazilian forward Wendell Lira captured the 2015 award over Messi, Lira secured 46.7% of the total fan vote compared to Messi's 33.3%. FIFA did not sabotage anyone. Massive collective fan mobilizations in South America and Eastern Europe simply outperformed the neutral votes destined for Barcelona's superstar.
Myth 3: His Best Goal Wasn't Eligible for Consideration
A frequent misunderstanding surrounds Messi's legendary solo goal against Getafe in April 2007, where he replicated Diego Maradona's goal of the century. Many modern supporters ask why Messi did not secure the Puskas accolade for this masterclass. The explanation is painfully chronological: FIFA created the Puskas Award in 2009, full two years after Messi shredded Getafe's defense. Because the governing body never evaluated historical goals retrospectively, his greatest solo run was ineligible before the award even existed.
A Little-Known Aspect: The Greatness Fatigue Factor
The Invisible Penalty of Routine Perfection
When you perform miracles on a weekly basis, the extraordinary quickly becomes mundane. We call this high-level voter desensitization, or simply greatness fatigue. When an obscure candidate like Daniel Zsóri scores an overhead kick in the 93rd minute for Debrecen against Ferencváros in 2019, it strikes the football world as a lightning bolt. When Messi chips Real Betis' goalkeeper with pinpoint mathematical precision that same year, commentators smile and say it is just another Sunday for the Argentine. As a result: voters subconsciously penalize iconic athletes for their own staggering consistency. Let's be clear about how human psychology impacts voting behavior during global awards. A voter looking at a ballot feels far more compelled to reward a life-changing highlight for a lower-tier professional than to give a superstar yet another trophy for his overflowing cabinet. Why do we expect voters to stay objective when baseline standards are wildly asymmetrical? The issue remains that Messi set his baseline so ridiculously high that even his divine strikes felt like standard procedure (and trust me, the numbers back this up). We inevitably took his brilliance for granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times was Lionel Messi nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award?
Lionel Messi received a record total of seven FIFA Puskás Award nominations across his career at FC Barcelona. His nominated goals occurred in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Despite this unmatched regularity at the highest level of European football, he never finished in first place. His closest finish came in 2015 when his breathtaking goal against Athletic Bilbao finished second overall behind Wendell Lira.
Why did Messi not get the Puskas Award for his chip against Real Betis in 2019?
In 2019, Lionel Messi's delicate chip shot against Real Betis received massive worldwide praise and a standing ovation from the opposing fans in Seville. However, 18-year-old Daniel Zsóri won the award for his acrobatic injury-time bicycle kick on his Hungarian league debut. FIFA had updated the voting procedure that year to blend public fan votes with a panel of FIFA Legends. The panel and public collective ultimately prioritized the high-octane drama of an overhead debut kick over Messi's subtle artistic masterpiece.
Did Cristiano Ronaldo ever win the Puskás Award?
Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo won the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award in 2009 during his final season with Manchester United. He captured the award for his stunning 40-yard long-range rocket against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Unlike Messi, Ronaldo converted his first major nomination into an official trophy victory. This historical difference continues to fuel debates among football enthusiasts discussing why Messi did not win the Puskas Award during his career peak.
Synthesis and Final Verdict
The total absence of a Puskás trophy in Lionel Messi's legendary museum says far more about the eccentric nature of fan-driven voting than his goalscoring ability. But trying to judge the greatest goalscorer of our era through a single subjective award is ultimately a flawed exercise. The system naturally favors viral moments of unexpected theatricality over recurring genius. Yet, no individual voting panel can erase the jaw-dropping quality of the strikes he produced across two decades at the summit of modern sport. In short, Messi didn't fail the Puskás Award; the award's voting structure simply couldn't capture the staggering regularity of his greatness. His legacy stands entirely complete without it.