Real Madrid defender David Alaba has revealed the reason behind voting for Lionel Messi instead of his own teammate Karim Benzema as the men's player of the year at the Best FIFA Awards.
After leading Argentina to a FIFA World Cup victory in Qatar just over two months ago, Messi was named the best male footballer in the world at FIFA's annual awards ceremony on Monday night.
The PSG superstar defeated club teammate Kylian Mbappe and Benzema, who came in third in the voting, to win his second The Best award and first since 2019.
Every country's coaches, captains, and journalists cast votes for the honour, and following Monday's presentation, FIFA issued a detailed breakdown of who received the most votes.
According to the vote results, Austrian captain Alaba chose Messi as his first pick over Benzema, placing his Madrid teammate second and Mbappe third.
Many fans on social media attacked Alaba for not selecting Benzema.
However, the 30-year-old has said it was the Austrian national team's collective decision to vote for the Paris Saint-Germain star.
"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," Alaba wrote on Twitter.
"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," he added.
Since Alaba arrived in Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2021, they have played together.
Messi beat his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, and World Cup final rival, Kylian Mbappe to the men´s gong with Ballon d´Or winner Benzema having been the other contender to claim the prize.
It is the second time that Messi has won the honour inaugurated by FIFA in 2016 after football´s world governing body split from Ballon d´Or organisers France Football.
The award, which is voted for by national team coaches and captains, journalists and also fans, recognises a year in which the former Barcelona star crowned his glorious career by leading Argentina to victory at the World Cup.