Elected the best player in the world this Monday, Lionel Messi received the FIFA The Best award and had an unexpected vote: David Alaba, defender of Real Madrid. The choice of the Austrian generated controversy as his teammate Karim Benzema also competed for the award.
After the repercussion of the vote, Alaba suffered attacks on its social networks and received racist insults. The Real Madrid player posted this Tuesday a note justifying the choice and explaining that the vote was in conjunction with other athletes from the Austrian national team.
“Regarding FIFA’s The Best award: The Austria national team votes for this award as a team, not just me, only. Everyone on the team council can vote and that’s how it’s decided,” Alaba wrote.
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
The Real Madrid defender also added that he admires his teammate Benzema and considers him “the best striker in the world, without a doubt”.
“Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances. And I always say that for me he is the best center forward in the world, and he still is. Without a doubt”, he added.
Benzema was in the selection of the best players of Fifa The Best, along with Messi, Mbappé and Haaland in the attack. In October 2022, the Frenchman received the Golden Ball award for his excellent season at Real Madrid and the title won in the Champions League.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
