Lionel
Messi was the surprise omission as the three-man shortlist for the LFP's
'Best Striker of the 2013/2014' award was revealed on Friday.
Despite
missing over two months of last season with a hamstring problem, the
27-year-old scored an impressive 36 goals in all competitions for the
Catalan giants, but that wasn't enough for him to be recognised on this
occasion.
Instead,
reigning Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, former Atletico Madrid
striker Diego Costa and Real Sociedad starlet Carlos Vela were nominated
for the award.
The front page of AS reveals that
Cristano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Carlos Vela have made the three-man
shortlist for the best striker award from last season's La Liga
Costa, Ronaldo and Vela were all in impressive form for their respective sides last season
Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu in January
All
three were the leading marksman for their respective sides last season,
with Costa in particular playing a huge role in his sides' success as
they pipped Barcelona to the La Liga title.
Costa,
who joined Chelsea for £32million earlier this summer, scored 27 goals
in 35 games as Atletico won La Liga for the first time in 18 years.
Elsewhere,
there were no real surprises with Ronaldo's inclusion, as the golden
boot winner notched 48 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid last
season - the fourth year in a row the Portuguese star has scored over 30
goals in a season.
Costa celebrates his goal during Atletico's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea last season
Messi points to the sky in celebration as Ronaldo looks on deflated during an El Clasico meeting
Vela looks to get ahead of Jordi Figueras during Real Sociedad's clash with Real Betis in April
Despite
not scoring as many goals as his other two competitors for the award,
nor Messi, Vela played a pivotal role in keeping his side in European
contention, scoring 16 goals in 37 matches for Sociedad.
The
25-year-old has impressed during his stint in Spain after failing to
make an impact in England with Arsenal, recording his single-season high
goal haul last season.
The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on 27 October.
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