SUAREZ – “Its not a big deal if Messi was excluded”

Uruguay striker, Luis Suarez says it is not a big deal that his Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi, was excluded from the three-man shortlist for the FIFA Best award.

Messi, having won the La Liga and the Copa Del Rey last season, was a surprise exclusion from the Footballer of the Year shortlist.

His rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, made the list alongside Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

“I don’t think that any award [Messi] does or doesn’t win takes anything away from what he has won and what he keeps on achieving,” Suarez told ESPN FC.

“It’s just like when I was scoring goals and deserved (to win) things, I was above all that. You prove yourself by working hard, with what you do in every game.

“The prizes that are worth more are the ones you win on the pitch. An example of that is being top scorer: no one can take that away from you because you won it with the goals you scored, proving yourself on the pitch, not because of a vote by players and journalists.”

Suarez, who has been a striking force at Barcelona together with Messi, went on to heap praises on the Argentine, rating him as the best player in the world.

“There are times when you don’t even need to look at him (Messi) because you know he is going to put the ball where you want it,” he said.

“There are times when you see a space that you can take advantage of and you don’t even have to tell him because he’s already seen it.

“That’s why, for many people, and for me, he is the best player in history, because of what he signifies as a player and for what he’s done in the game.

“You don’t need to tell him anything because he sees everything.”