– Lionel Messi beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk to be named the player of the year
– Messi had a fantastic season with Barcelona – helping them to a domestic double
– The Argentine talisman however picked Sadio Mane as his candidate for the prestigious award
– Mane was impressive for Liverpool last season, claiming the EPL Golden Boot award and the Champions League
Just hours after Lionel Messi being crowned Best FIFA Player of the Year ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk, it has emerged who the three football players voted for.
Messi beat Van Dijk to the award after garnering 46 per cent of the scoring points, with the Liverpool defender finishing second having attracted 38 per cent of the votes.
Lionel Messi poses with the The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award and The FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 Award trophies. Photo: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
Ronaldo, who gave the awards ceremony hosted in Milan, Italy, a wide berth completed the top three with 36 per cent of the votes.
Whereas Van Dijk picked Messi to win the award, Ronaldo surprisingly settled for ex-Ajax defender and his current team-mate at Juventus Matthijs de Ligt – omitting Messi entirelyfrom his top three.
Messi’s choice of the top three however included Ronaldo, but his no.1 choice is what left everyone stunned.
The Argentine star had picked Sadio Mane, who had an arguably superb campaign in the 2018/19 campaign.
The Senegalese forward helped Liverpool to their Champions League triumph and a second-place finish for the Reds in the Premier League as he bagged the Golden Boot award.
He however finished fifth in a top 10 list that was dominated with Liverpool players.
Sadio Mane was joint-top scorer in the EPL to win the golden boot. Photo: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
Votes were counted from the world’s international captains, their managers and a selected media personality from each country.
Each individual is required to pick three candidates, with their top choice earning five points, their second raking in three points and the third-placed player one point.
