A Real Madrid star has caused a huge stir after he voted for Lionel Messi for the FIFA The Best Men's Player award ahead of teammate Karim Benzema.
Official: FIFA The Best Men's Award Winner Announced
Austria international David Alaba has impressed since joining Los Blancos from Bayern Munich in 2021, but his voting for the latest FIFA awards have not been well-received in Spain.
The 30-year-old gave Messi his vote for first place ahead of club colleague Benzema, who helped the Spanish giants to a double last season under Carlo Ancelotti.
Alaba's votes for The Best 2022:- 1st place: Leo Messi- 2nd place: Benzema- 3rd place: Mbappé pic.twitter.com/stTZLmVk0J
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 27, 2023
Benzema produced special performances as Real won both LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League in the 2021/22 campaign, scoring 44 goals in all competitions.
After his votes came to light, the hashtag #AlabaOut trended on Twitter, while the Austrian defender was also believed to receive racial abuse online, according to Barca Universal.
The hashtag #AlabaOut is trending on Twitter because of tweets from Real Madrid fans, after David Alaba voted Leo Messi ahead of Benzema for The Best 2022 award. pic.twitter.com/CkUfEtVV2h
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 27, 2023
Messi took home the individual accolade, with Kylian Mbappe and Benzema following him in second and third place, respectively, at the ceremony in Paris on Monday.
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