{"id":1107978,"date":"2019-09-24T16:39:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T15:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1107978"},"modified":"2019-09-24T16:39:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T15:39:42","slug":"messi-mane-fifa-the-best-awards-who-voted","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/messi-mane-fifa-the-best-awards-who-voted\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi a big Sadio Mane fan? Who voted for who at FIFA’s The Best awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi won his first Fifa The Best Men’s Player award on Monday, finishing ahead of Virgil van Dijk and eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 32-year-old Argentina international enjoyed a spectacularly productive 2018\/19 season which ultimately helped him lift the coveted prize.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7373702-tammy-abraham-can-equal-a-unique-luis-suarez-feat-vs-liverpool<\/p>\n

He notched up 46 points in the voting process, just eight more than Van Dijk, with Ronaldo a further two behind. Unlike the Ballon d’Or, this accolade is voted for by every international captain and manager plus a member of their nation’s media.<\/p>\n

So, it’s always fascinating to see who voted for who \u2013 especially as the aforementioned three are eligible to cast a nomination \u2013 given we almost certainly get a rogue vote and in some cases tactical.<\/p>\n

Man\u00e9 love<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As touched upon on these pages before, Sadio Man\u00e9 is no longer just a supporting act with Liverpool, he’s very much the show these days. Last season, the Senegalese forward grabbed the baton and on most occasions was their go-to guy when that role previously belonged to Mohamed Salah \u2013 who still remains a force \u2013 and to a lesser extent Roberto Firmino, again still brilliant for the Reds.<\/p>\n

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He finished fifth in the final vote on 26 points, three behind Salah, but two of the game’s biggest names felt he was ‘the best’. Of the eight captains to give him the nod, including international team-mate Cheikhou Kouyat\u00e9, one was Real Madrid’s latest galactico Eden Hazard, while none other than Messi pushed for Mane to win the award. If that’s not a seal of approval then what is?<\/p>\n

Still Messi<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since turning promise into consistent brilliance a decade ago, Messi has been universally lauded as his generation’s most exceptional footballer.<\/p>\n

No one, with the exception of Ronaldo, could keep up with the diminutive Rosario-born forward and seeing him win out shouldn’t have come as a surprise \u2013 even though it did, which goes to show that we could very well be starting to take him for granted.<\/p>\n

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Lionel Messi = Sadio Man\u00e9
Virgil van Dijk = Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo = Matthijs de Ligt
Sergio Ramos = Eden Hazard<\/p>\n

Find out how Hazard, Kane and others voted here – https:\/\/t.co\/cL3vngejpP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/e4ZJlUgd3i<\/a><\/p>\n

— Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) September 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n