2022 FIFA Awards: Real Madrid’s Alaba suffer racial abuse after voting for Messi ahead of teammate Benzema
The 2022 FIFA Awards, staged on Monday night, February 27, was one of the best moments for some football icons and fans across the globe.
The ceremony in Paris saw Argentina forward, and talisman Lionel Messi emerge as the top men’s player in world football.
After the award was handed to the World Cup winner, FIFA gave some fascinating details about the votes, with the likes of Harry Kane, Thiago Silva and David Alaba appearing on the list.
Austria captain David Alaba’s vote brought the most reactions as he chose Les Parisien star Lionel Messi ahead of his Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema.
Alaba handed his five points to Messi before voting for Benzema in second and Kylian Mbappe in third – a decision that saw the hashtag #AlabaOut trending on social media.
The 30-year-old was racially abused on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
However, in the early hours of Tuesday, February 28, Alaba released a statement on his Twitter page explaining his decision to vote for Messi.
“Regarding FIFA The Best Award: The Austrian national team voted for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote, and that’s how it’s decided,” he said.
“Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances, and I have often said that for me, he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without a doubt.”
Regarding FIFA The Best Award:
The Austrian national team vote for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that’s how it’s decided.Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances
— David Alaba (@David_Alaba) February 28, 2023
Despite Alaba’s statement, there have been mixed reactions from football fans across the globe. Some comments say the Madrid defender did no wrong in voting for Messi.
Who voted for whom?
| Selected votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voting party | Country | Name | First | Second | Third |
| Captain | Argentina | Lionel Messi | Neymar | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | Croatia | Luka Modric | Karim Benzema | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe |
| Captain | Brazil | Thiago Silva | Neymar | Lionel Messi | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | Egypt | Mohamed Salah | Vinicius Jr | Kevin de Bruyne | Achraf Hakimi |
| Captain | England | Harry Kane | Lionel Messi | Sadio Mane | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | France | Hugo Lloris | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema | Lionel Messi |
| Captain | Germany | Manuel Neuer | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Robert Lewandowski |
| Captain | Northern Ireland | Steven Davis | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | Portugal | Pepe | Kylian Mbappe | Luka Modric | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | Republic of Ireland | Seamus Coleman | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema |
| Captain | Spain | Sergio Busquets | Lionel Messi | Robert Lewandowski | Karim Benzema |
| Coach | Argentina | Lionel Scaloni | Lionel Messi | Julian Alvarez | Luka Modric |
| Coach | Austria | Ralf Rangnick | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Jude Bellingham |
| Coach | England | Gareth Southgate | Lionel Messi | Luka Modric | Kylian Mbappe |
| Coach | France | Didier Deschamps | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema | Lionel Messi |
| Coach | Northern Ireland | Michael O’Neill | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Karim Benzema |
| Coach | Republic of Ireland | Stephen Kenny | Kylian Mbappe | Lionel Messi | Erling Haaland |
| Coach | Wales | Rob Page | Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Jude Bellingham |
Other comments insist that Alaba had the chance to vote for his teammate Benzema but chose not to. They say the 30-year-old showed no love.
Lionel Messi took the top spot with 52 points. France striker and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe came in second with 44 points, and Karim Benzema was placed third with 34 points.
The ceremony was FIFA’s seventh award in Paris, and Messi made history after receiving his second FIFA Men’s Player 2022 award.
“It’s amazing. It’s an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award,” said the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“Without my teammates, I wouldn’t be here. It was an amazing year, and I achieved the dream that I’d been hoping for so long, and finally, I managed to achieve it.
“It [the World Cup] is the most wonderful thing that’s happened to me in my career”, Messi said.
See the full list below: