Blatter no longer fancies Messi

Where: Moscow

Who: Sepp Blatter and whoever might be party to the Ballon d'or award

Golden Glove winner Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (L) congratulates Golden Ball winner Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) after their 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in this July 13, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Argentine stud Lionel Messi has always been FIFA President Sepp Blatter's favorite.

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However, Blatter said earlier that it was "incorrect" to award Messi the World Cup Golden Ball at this summer's tournament in Brazil, while German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer deserved the honor more.

Messi was handed the award after Argentina lost to Germany in the final, raising questions over whether Messi had excelled in his mission, as skipper, to inspire his team.

Considering the FIFA boss' record of gaffes, it was no surprise that his comments came at a time that could not have been trickier.

Blatter appeared at a press event in Moscow only a few hours after the Argentine forward was shortlisted, along with 22 other candidates, for the FIFA Ballon d'or.

A year ago Blatter found himself caught up in a spat after he openly favored Barcelona's Messi over Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the duo were believed to be the strongest contenders for the award.

Blatter mocked Ronaldo's penchant for fiddling with his hair at a speech, saying he "has more expenses for the hairdresser" while Messi is "a good boy", only to receive a stinging attack from Real, which backed their talisman's bid for the award.

The spat ended up with a bonus other than Blatter's apology - a deadline extension that allowed voters to be impressed by Ronaldo's spectacular individual performance after his three goals guided Portugal into the Brazil World Cup finals.

Ronaldo eventually won last year's Ballon d'or for the 69 goals he scored, but the last three were what he may really need to edge Messi in a tight race.

Will Blatter apologize to Messi this time?