Lionel Messi ranks 24th in alternative Player of the Year rankings as debate rages on

Lionel Messi has been snubbed in an alternative Player of the Year ranking.

Lionel Messi may have scooped a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or recently, but he has been snubbed as Player of the Year by CIES Football Observatory for 2021. In fact, the Argentine could only manage 24th place as Real Madrid's David Alaba was crowned the winner of the alternative award.

Football analysts at CIES revealed the shock result having gone to great lengths to quantify what constitutes the best footballer in the world, as the hotly-debated issue rages on.

While the winner of the prestigious Ballon d'Or is determined by voting from coaches, players and journalists, and judged according to performance and behaviour on and off the pitch, the accolade awarded by CIES sees an altogether different approach.

Data scientists at the Swiss observatory essentially crunch the numbers to consider who makes the greatest contribution to their team.

The brainiacs amalgamate the playing time of footballers and the sporting level of the teams for which they played, or the competitions they participated in, to create their ranking criteria.

In layman's terms, the CIES Player of the Year is awarded to a footballer who is somewhat of an unsung hero for their team.

The winner is often a player who consistently puts in performances of the highest level and is a key component of their side, without hogging all the headlines.

In Alaba, this year's winner certainly fits the billing.

The versatile Austrian claimed his tenth Bundesliga title with former club Bayern Munich - a 27th trophy in his 11-year stint in Bavaria - before seeking a new challenge by signing with Real Madrid this summer.