Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi took home The Best Player Award of 2022. The Argentine superstar was clearly the frontrunner following a memorable performance in the last World Cup, in which he shone to take La Albiceleste to the promised land.
With seven goals and three assists, Messi played an instrumental role in Argentinaās first World Cup title in 36 years. His brilliant level in Qatar earned him the tournamentās Golden Ball and eventually led to his second The Best award.
Messi had the upper hand over PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid star Karim Benzema, who were also on the shortlist. However, the Argentine star was snubbed by many colleagues and national team coaches.
National team captains and managers that didnāt vote for Lionel Messi
While Messi was not always the first choice, he appeared in most of the votes, sometimes in second or in third place. But many coaches and captains, including Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, didnāt vote him at all.
Captains that didnāt vote for Messi
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- Cambodia
- Congo
- Egypt(Mohamed Salah)
- Gabon
- Haiti
- Hungary
- Lesotho
- Mali
- Morocco
- Portugal
- South Sudan
- Togo
- United Arab Emirates
Managers that didnāt vote for Messi
- Algeria
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia andHerzegovina
- Botswana
- Central African Republic
- Costa Rica (Colombian coach Luis Fernando Suarez)
- Djibouti
- Eswatini
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Gibraltar (Uruguayan coachJulio Ribas)
- Guinea
- Kenya
- Korea Republic
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Nicaragua
- Puerto Rico
- Senegal
- Slovakia
- Spain
- SaintCristopher andNevis
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Uzbekistan
