David Alaba has explained why he voted for Lionel Messi ahead of Karim Benzema at The Best FIFA awards, after he received racial abuse.
Real Madrid defender Alaba was racially abused after his vote went to Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain (and Barcelona legend) Messi rather than his Real Madrid teammate Benzema.
The Argentina captain, Messi was confirmed as the winner of the prize at a ceremony in Paris on Monday beating France strikers Kylian Mbappe and Benzema to the award.
Austria captain Alaba has pointed out that he was voting on behalf of his national team, not simply in a personal capacity, and the majority preference was for Messi.
The 30-year-old tweeted: “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.”
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