Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde insists Leo Messi remains the best in the world.

The Argentine was not in attendance at the FIFA gala on Monday night as Luka Modric beat out competition from Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah to claim the honour.

"Everyone will have their opinion [on The Best] and I'm no different, I have mine too," Valverde told reporters. "I don't think it is time to compare players but for us, Leo is the best.

"I have nothing else to really say on the matter. Modric is a great player who has had a great year. Years ago, there weren't as many awards or press but now, everything is magnified and there are many awards and many galas.

"Each one is a self-homage to the organiser about gathering football stars. That can lead to controversy but I attribute it to what I have mentioned already, that's the situation we are in.

"This is a sport but it is becoming more and more of a business for everyone."

The fact that Messi, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, opted against attending the ceremony was also not something that concerned the Blaugrana tactician.

"When you have a game coming up, you either have the freedom to accept the invitation or not," he said.

"That is a question that shouldn't be put to me though but to the players."