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Robert Lewandowski has won the 2021 Best FIFA Men's Player Award. This is the Polish international's second successive win. He missed out on the Ballon d'Or in November but there was belief among fans that he'd have a better chance of winning this one.
That is because the voting system used for the Best FIFA Men's Player Award is quite different to that of the Ballon d'Or.
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The Best FIFA Men's Player Award has a unique voting system
Voters are divided into four - national team captains, national team coaches, media representatives and fans. Each get 25% of the vote share. Robert Lewandowski finished with 49 points while Lionel Messi came second with 44 points. Mohamed Salah took up the final spot on the podium with 39 points.
Due to the fact that some of the frontrunners for the Best FIFA Men's Player Award are national team captains, they also got to pick their top three. So Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah had to take their picks as well.
There have been some strange selections this time. Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the most surprising top 3 votes for the Best FIFA Men's Player Award.
#5 Gareth Southgate (England) - Jorginho, Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi
England coach Gareth Southgate picked Jorginho as his top vote. He then chose Manchester City and Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne as his second pick. Southgate's third and final pick was Lionel Messi.
The England coach excluded eventual winner Robert Lewandowski in what was quite a baffling decision. It's difficult to argue that Kevin De Bruyne has had a better year than the Polish international. Southgate must surely have been impressed by Jorginho at Euro 2020 and the UEFA Champions League.
But we wonder why he decided to leave Lewandowski out of his top three, especially when he was clearly a cut above the rest.
#4 Gareth Bale (Wales captain) - Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah
Wales captain and Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale did not deem Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo worthy of his votes. The Welshman's top pick was eventual winner Robert Lewandowski. His second pick was current teammate and in-form striker Karim Benzema.
It's rather strange that Bale chose Salah over Messi because 2021 was a defining year for the latter. The 34-year-old was named the Best Player of the tournament as he won the Copa America with Argentina in the summer. He also outperformed Mohamed Salah in the 2020-21 season.
Bale also didn't think that any of Ronaldo's exploits in 2021 were worthy of a vote.
#3 Eden Hazard (Belgium captain) - Karim Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne and Jorginho
Eden Hazard's top pick for the Best FIFA Player of the Year Award was his club teammate Karim Benzema. We weren't very surprised by that. But what did surprise us though was that Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make his top three.
Hazard's second pick was his countryman Kevin De Bruyne. His final vote went to Italy and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho. It looks like Hazard decided to stay loyal to his teammates more than anything here. But it's definitely a bit surpising that he didn't deem Lewandowski or Messi worthy of a place in the top three.
#2 Fernando Santos (Portugal coach) - N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski
Portugal coach Fernando Santos is among the people who have surprised us with their picks. 2021 was a historic year for Cristiano Ronaldo. He broke Iran's Ali Daei's record for most international goals. Ronaldo also scored five goals in just four appearances at Euro 2020 and won the Golden Boot at the tournament.
The Manchester United man would have needed plenty of luck to pip the competition to the Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award. But his own national team coach not voting for him might have caught the 36-year-old by surprise.
Santos' top pick was Chelsea and France midfielder N'Golo Kante followed by Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina captain) - Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema
Lionel Messi was all praise for Robert Lewandowski after winning a record seventh Ballon d'Or in late November. He said:
"I think Robert Lewandowski had a great year. Year after year, he improves and shows the excellent striker he is, as well as his ability to score goals.
"This year he was awarded as the top scorer. Of course he can certainly aspire to that level next year, thanks to his way of being on the pitch. And in addition, he plays for a big club."
Despite all that, Messi didn't deem Lewandowski worthy of a place in his top three. The Argentina international chose Neymar Jr. as his top pick. His second pick was Kylian Mbappe, another club teammate. Messi chose Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema as his third favorite to win the Best FIFA Men's Player Award.
Messi conveniently omitted his closest competitor Robert Lewandowski and eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting.
