Robert Lewandowski got the consolation prize. After failing in his quest for the Ballon d’Or, the Pole won the (much less envied) title of Fifa player of the year in a virtual ceremony. The Bayern Munich striker edged out Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah.
To award this prize, the jury is notably composed of the coaches of each national team as well as their captain. Everyone must establish their top 3 of the past year… with several amazing votes, or not that much after all…
So Lionel Messi, as captain of Argentina, had given his top 3. And if the Pulga had a very classy reaction to Lewandowski after receiving his seventh Ballon d’Or – “Robert I want to emphasize that you would have deserved to win the trophy last year, because what you have been achieving for several months is exceptional” – he nevertheless snubbed the Pole when establishing his top 3. The PSG player chose Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema, two of his Parisian teammates with the Madrid player.
The other big star of the round ball, Crisitano Ronaldo also had to vote as captain of Portugal. And CR7 made sure to vote for his eternal rival, Lionel Messi. The Portuguese gave his votes to Robert Lewandowski, Ngolo Kanté and Jorginho. But the most surprising vote is undoubtedly that of the Seleção coach, Fernando Santos, who “forgot to put Ronaldo in his top 3. The Portuguese coach voted for Ngolo Kanté, Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski. A choice that goes without doubt to speak.
If Santos was not chauvinistic, this is not the case for Didier Deschamps who established a 100% French top 3. The coach of the Blues gave his preference to Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé and Ngolo Kanté, while for the goalkeeper of the year, Deschamps voted for… Hugo Lloris.
On the Belgian side, captain Eden Hazard gave his favorite to his teammate Karim Benzema, just ahead of his sidekick at the Devils Kevin De Bruyne. Jorginho completes his top 3. Roberto Martinez has chosen Kevin De Bruyne ahead of Jorginho and Lewandowski.
