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According to a report on December 21, the Argentine Football Association officially announced that Messi was named Argentina’s best player living abroad in 2016, namely Argentina’s Footballer of the Year (abroad). The Argentine Footballer of the Year is an annual award chosen by the Argentine Journalists Association; it is part of the Olympic Awards for sports in Argentina, and the selection process began in 1970. Since 2008, the award has chosen two players each year: one who plays in the Argentine Primera Division (not limited to Argentinians), and another Argentine player who plays in a foreign league. This year, the other two candidates for Best Foreign Player also came from Serie A’s Juventus; Dybala and Higuain unfortunately failed to make the cut. Beluschi, who plays for San Lorenzo in the Argentine Primera Division, was named Argentina’s best domestic player; he has also been selected for the Argentina national team in qualifying matches. In 2016, Messi scored 59 goals in 62 matches, provided 31 assists, with an average of 0.95 goals per match; he was directly involved in 90 goals, scored 7 penalties and 7 direct free kicks, missed 3 penalties, achieved 6 hat-tricks, went without scoring in 24 matches, and won 3 championships. They are the La Liga champion, the Copa del Rey champion, and the Spanish Super Cup champion – he truly deserves to be named the best player.