Alaba complains about voting for Messi
"The Austrian team voted for this award as a team, not just me," Alaba wrote on Twitter on February 28. "Everybody on the team council can vote and that's how this vote is decided. Everyone knows, especially Karim Benzema, how much I admire him and his performance." .
The Best FIFA Men's Player award in 2022 is voted for by coaches, team captains, journalists and fans. After the award ceremony on February 27, FIFA announced each vote. The specific positions in the votes of Alaba - the captain of the Austrian team - are Messi, Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, respectively.
This angered Real fans. Many people online attacked this defender with racist words. Others asked him to leave Real.
Alaba joined Real from Bayern in the summer of 2021 on a free form. In the first season, Alaba played 46 matches and scored three goals, contributing to La Liga and Champions League. This season, the 30-year-old defender has played 29 matches and contributed two goals.
Messi won The Best when he received a combined 52 points, eight points ahead of Mbappe. Benzema is third with 34 points.
In the first half of 2022, Benzema stands out the most. The 35-year-old striker scored a hat-trick against PSG in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round and Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals. He also scored one goal in the second leg against Chelsea and three in two semi-finals against Man City. Besides winning the Champions League, Benzema also scored 27 goals to help Real win La Liga 2021-2022.
Messi pops up in the second half of 2022. At the World Cup in Qatar, the Argentine striker contributed seven goals and three assists. Besides bringing the team to the throne after 36 years, Messi also won the World Cup Best Player and the World Cup Silver Shoe. Mbappe took France to the final and won the Golden Shoe.
Benzema was not present at the 2022 World Cup. The 35-year-old striker had to leave the France team just before the opening day, due to injury.
Before the World Cup, Benzema won the 2022 Golden Ball. The basis to compete for this award is the contribution on the pitch from August 2021 to the end of July 2022. Messi's World Cup triumphs will count towards the 2023 Ballon d'Or race. Meanwhile, the basis for competing for The Best is a calendar year contribution.
