Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk voted for Lionel Messi as the best choice for FIFA’s ‘The Best’ player award, but snubbed Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.
Messi, who guided Argentina to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, won the award last night with 52 points, beating PSG teammate Mbappé by eight.
Benzema, for his part, missed France’s qualifier for the final, but enjoyed great success with Real Madrid, making the La Liga and Champions League double, and finishing third in the prize standings.
Van Dijk votes for The Best 2022:- 1st place: Leo Messi- 2nd place: Salah- 3rd place: De Bruyne https://t.co/2qbayXU7Jm
Van Dijk, however, snubbed the French stars and voted for Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne instead of Messi.
Salah finished as the joint top scorer in the Premier League with 22 goals and also lifted the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. He was also crucial for Liverpool to reach the Champions League final.
De Bruyne guided Manchester City to a second successive top-flight title and a fourth in five years, while also shining in Europe as the Sky Blues reached the quarter-finals once again.
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Congratulations to Virgil van Dijk, who is listed in The 2022 FIFPro Men’s #world11 👏🏻 https://t.co/HtmqqZS52P
The Belgian finished 10th in the final standings of ‘The Best’ with 10 points, while Salah was 14th after earning just two points.
Van Dijk was left out but was included in the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 with De Bruyne also in the cut. Salah had no place among the best attackers since Mbappé, Messi, Benzema and Erling Haaland were chosen ahead of him.
Mbappé and Messi also among the favorites for the Ballon d’Or
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé finished as the highest ranked players in FIFA’s ‘The Best’ male player award last night. Given the excellent season they’ve both had, it’s obvious they’re both top contenders for the Ballon d’Or as well.
Messi has shrugged off his first-season woes to be on top form for PSG this time around, scoring 17 goals, including 12 in Ligue 1, along with a further 16 assists in all competitions.
A World Cup 2022 Golden Boot winner with eight goals, Mbappe has simply picked up from where he left off in Qatar – and currently has 29 goals – including 17 in the league – as the 24-year-old looks for another top scorer. grant.
If the duo can guide PSG to more titles this year, the competition between Messi and Mbappe could become fiercer, though it’s arguable that Messi would still have the upper hand over Mbappe given his World Cup triumph.
Either way, both players are at the top of their game right now.