Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s famed rivalry is still as fierce as ever, as neither player voted for the other at FIFA Awards. The Manchester United attacker voted for Robert Lewandowski to win the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, while the Paris Saint-Germain star supported team-mate Neymar.
Lewandowski, of Bayern Munich and Poland, was named the champion for the second time in succession on Monday, beating Messi and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah. Lewandowski won 48 points after receiving votes from national team captains, coaches, journalists, and fans, while Messi obtained 44 points and Salah received 39 points.
Messi also supported his clubmate Kylian Mbappe to finish second. And chose Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema as his third-best player: N’Golo Kante and Jorginho rounded out Ronaldo’s top three.
As reported by Mirror, Messi told French outlet L’Equipe ahead of last year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, “Obviously, I have two players in my team that I would vote for, [Neymar] and Kylian [Mbappe].” He added, “And then Robert Lewandowski, who has just had a great year, and Karim Benzema, who was excellent.”
When it came to choosing his favourite player, the eventual winner did not vote for Messi or Ronaldo. Instead, Jorginho received Lewandowski’s first vote, but Messi received his second and Ronaldo received his third.
After losing the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi just a few weeks ago, Lewandowski outlasted both his Argentine counterpart and Mohamed Salah this time. Despite not being able to attend the star-studded celebration in person, Lewandowski was awarded FIFA’s highest accolade in men’s football for the second year in a row.
The award system for the best male and female players is one of the most intriguing on the awards circuit. To avoid having to poll hundreds of players, the playing section of the ballot is designated for national team leaders, which necessarily means a specific super-famous duo.
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