The 30-year-old Los blancos player voted for Benzema second and Mbappe third, promoting the hashtag #AlabaOut to trend on social media.
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Real Madrid defender and Austria captain David Alaba was racially abused on social media after voting for Lionel Messi ahead of his club teammate Karim Benzema in the FIFA Best poll on Tuesday. Argentina forward Messi won the men’s player of the year award. FIFA released a list of who voted for whom at the awards. The 30-year-old Los blancos player voted for Benzema second and Mbappe third, prompting the hashtag #AlabaOut to trend on social media. The Austrian player was forced to publish a thread on Twitter explaining why he voted for the Argentine superstar first.
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
“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,” Alaba wrote on his Twitter account.
and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without doubt.
— David Alaba (@David_Alaba) February 28, 2023
Messi, who led La Albiceleste to the 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar, won the accolade, while Mbappe finished second, and Benzema ended up in the third pot. Benzma had a stellar 2022 season with Real Madrid, leading them to the UEFA Champions League and La Liga title. The Frenchman scored an astonishing 42 goals in 42 appearances for the Los Blancos across all competitions last season. Mbappe, on the other hand, was the top goal-scorer during the Qatar World Cup with eight scalps to his name, three of those goals were scored in the final at Lusail Stadium.
The awards were decided by a poll of national team captains and coaches, selected media and fans voting online from candidats lists decided by FIFA-appointed expert panels. Meanwhile, Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic decided against taking part in the vote, saying his side deserved more “respect” from FIFA. Croatia captain Luka Modric came fourth in the vote but was the only player from Croatia on the list of 14 candidats, despite finishing third in last year’s World Cup finals.
“If English, Brazilian, Spanish, German or Italian players and coaches had the kind of results that we do, they’d be on the shortlist for every possible football award, I want more respect for us, for our national team, for our players, and for myself, because with two medals, we more than deserve it. Fifa should promote the fact that a tiny country such as Croatia can play against the biggest nations in the world because that’s the most beautiful message for the whole football world,” Said Dalic.
Alaba joined Real Maddird in July 2021 as a free agent, after spending more than a decade with Bayern Munich. The versatile defender had a fruitful debut season with the Los Blancos, winning four titles- Champions League, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup. The 30-year-old made 43 appearances for the Spanish giants across all competitions, while scoring four goals.
