Lionel Messi took home The Best award and to be honest, it did not come as a major surprise. The Argentine might have had a tough debut campaign with Paris Saint-Germain but he has improved immensely since then. On the other hand, he reached the pinnacle of his legendary career last year, winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup. One Real Madrid star’s vote for him caused some controversy though.
David Alaba voted for Messi ahead of Karim Benzema for the award. And to be honest, he can vote for whoever he wants. Both are great players, coming off of historical campaigns. There was no wrong choice.
Some Real Madrid fans did not take too kindly to the matter though. On one hand, Benzema had led the club to a Champions League and La Liga double last season. On the other hand, Messi is a Barcelona legend. As a result, Alaba had to face a lot of unwarranted backlash on social media.
And the Austrian has been forced to explain why his vote went to Messi ahead of Benzema. As reported by STV News, Alaba explained:
"“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.”"
Real Madrid star explains voting for Messi ahead of Benzema for The Best
So, it turns out that the Austrian national team voted for Messi as a team, rather than Alaba as an individual. And no matter what the case, the Austrian should not have received the reaction that he did on social media.
The focus has to be on winning team trophies rather than individual awards. And Real Madrid are competing on all three fronts till now, despite their long list of injury problems at this point of time.
Their next game is against Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semis at Santiago Bernabeu. And with Xavi’s side struggling recently, it might be a great time for Real Madrid to face them.