David Alaba voted yesterday at the FIFA The Best Awards for winner Lionel Messi as the best player of 2022. The defender of Real Madrid chose the Argentinian over teammate Karim Benzema and that is why he has come under strong criticism from his own supporters. Alaba feels compelled to explain.
Voting for former FC Barcelona player Lionel Messi has gone down the wrong way among Real Madrid supporters. Alaba is called a ‘traitor’ on social media and he is treated racist by some of the fans. The hashtag #alabaout is now trending.
Alaba chose together with Austrian teammates
As Austria captain, Alaba was authorized to vote for FIFA’s Best Award. However, he did not put together a top three on his own, where this is customary in other countries. A list has been drawn up in consultation with all selection players of the national team, Alaba explains.
,,The Austrian national team decided as a team about the votes for this award, not just me. Everyone in the team was allowed to vote and that’s how we proceeded. Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his achievements. And I have said several times that for me he is the best striker in the world; he still is. Without a doubt,” writes Alaba.
Messi received the most votes in Austria’s selection, followed by Benzema and Kylian Mbappé in third place.
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