Lionel Messi reportedly snubbed his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo among his three choices for the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. However, Ronaldo did keep Messi among his picks for the top award which was eventually won by Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski on Thursday.
Lewandowski was chosen as the winner after receiving the majority of votes from fans, journalists, national team coaches and captains thanks to an excellent 2019-20 season for his German club. He scored 55 goals in 47 appearances during a run that saw Bayern winning Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup.
The Polish striker staved off competition from Ronaldo and Messi to pick the award.
FIFA made the votes public, thus revealing which footballer voted for whom.
Barcelona superstar Messi included Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and eventual winner Lewandowski among his three choices for the annual award. On the other hand, Juventus’ Ronaldo kept Lewandowski, Messi and Mbappe among his three choices.
Messi picking the Neymar and Mbappe will fuel speculations where he could play next should he leave Barcelona. He has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League’s Manchester City and Ligue1’s PSG.
Neymar, a former teammate of Messi at Barcelona, has also openly expressed his desire to play with the Argentine talisman again.
Here’s a complete list of winners from The Best FIFA Awards 2020
=>The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Lucy Bronze – England/Olympique Lyonnais/Manchester City
=>The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Jurgen Klopp – Liverpool
=>The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Sarah Bouhaddi – France/Olympique Lyonnais
=>The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer – Germany/Bayern Munich
=>The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Robert Lewandowski – Poland/Bayern Munich
=>The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman – Netherlands
=>FIFA Fair Play Award: Mattia Agnese – Italy
=>FIFA Puskas Award: Son Heung-min – South Korea/Tottenham
=>FIFA Fan Award: Marivaldo Francisco da Silva – Brazil