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David Alaba explains his decision not to vote for Karim Benzema in the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award.
Real Madrid defender David Alaba has taken to social media to explain why he did not vote for colleague Karim Benzema as the Best FIFA Men’s Player.
In addition to helping Los Blancos reclaim La Liga from local rivals Atletico Madrid last season and win their record 14th Champions League title, Benzema was named the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner.
In contrast, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were the favourites to win The Best FIFA Men’s Player title presented on Monday night as a result of their outstanding World Cup performances, with the Argentinean eventually taking home the trophy.
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Three votes from national team leaders are allowed for the honours, and Austrian captain Alaba chose Messi over Benzema for the top spot. He earned a third and final vote for Mbappe.
Once FIFA released the complete results of the poll, Alaba received racial taunts from Real Madrid supporters for not selecting Benzema as his top option.
Alaba has now taken to Twitter to explain his decision, stating: “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 and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without 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