The Austrian defender received racist abuse for not choosing his teammate in the voting.
David Alaba voted for Lionel Messi ahead of his Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema at the FIFA Best awards.
The decision infuriated Real Madrid fans and triggered online abuse toward Alaba. The Austria captain voted for Messi, Benzema, and Kylian Mbappe as his first to third choices, respectively.
The backlash forced Alaba to offer an explanation for his vote on Twitter.
“Regarding FIFA The Best Award: The Austrian national team vote for this award as a team, not me alone,” he wrote. “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 and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without doubt.”
On Monday, FIFA announced Messi as the Men’s Player of the Year. The Argentine international led Argentina to their third World Cup trophy in Qatar.
Benzema missed the tournament with an injury, and his achievements at the club level weren’t enough to convince the majority of the voters.
Messi himself selected Neymar, Mbappe and Benzema as his first to third choices. Unlike Messi, Mbappe and Benzema, however, Neymar didn’t make the 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11.
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