How Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo & More Voted in The Best FIFA Men's Player Award
By Tom Gott
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2020, fending off competition from finalists Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to seal the prize.
It's an award which means a lot to any player as it is voted for by fellow players, managers and journalists, but because it uses that method, there's always the potential for some... intriguing votes.
FIFA have released the full breakdown of the voting, so let's take a look at some of the more notable choices.
Lionel Messi
1st: Neymar
2nd: Kylian Mbappe
3rd: Robert Lewandowski
Messi obviously couldn't vote for himself, but the thing that stands out from the Argentina captain's votes is the absence of Ronaldo.
Lewandowski only just squeezes in in third, behind PSG duo Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Lionel Scaloni
1st: Sadio Mane
2nd: Lionel Messi
3rd: Neymar
Messi will have surely believed he could count on the support of Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, but no.
Scaloni only put Messi second, using his top vote to select Sadio Mane instead.
Luka Modric
1st: Robert Lewandowski
2nd: Sergio Ramos
3rd: Mohamed Salah
Another of those with no love for Ronaldo is former Real Madrid team-mate Modric, who instead opted for Sergio Ramos and Mohamed Salah to make up his top three.
Ramos himself also steered away from Ronaldo, instead opting for Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara and Neymar.
Manuel Neuer
1st: Robert Lewandowski
2nd: Kevin De Bruyne
3rd: Thiago Alcantara
Bayern manager Hansi Flick recently revealed (via the Bundesliga) that everyone on the team wanted Lewandowski to win, and that was clear in Germany captain Neuer's votes.
Lewandowski sat on top and former Bayern man Thiago Alcantara even found his way on to the podium, with neither Messi nor Ronaldo anywhere to be found. Was somebody playing games?
Riyad Mahrez
1st: Robert Lewandowski
2nd: Sadio Mane
3rd: Kevin De Bruyne
Mane over team-mate Kevin De Bruyne? Awkward.
Virgil van Dijk
1st: Sadio Mane
2nd: Mohamed Salah
3rd: Thiago Alcantara
Van Dijk here, not even trying to hide his Liverpool bias. He was one of 47 players who couldn't find a place for eventual winner Lewandowski in their votes.
It was a similar vibe from midfielder Naby Keita, who opted for Lewandowski, Mane and Salah as his top three.
Robert Lewandowski
1st: Thiago Alcantara
2nd: Neymar
3rd: Kevin De Bruyne
Lewandowski wasn't allowed to vote for himself, and it looks like he decided he wasn't going to show any love to Messi or Ronaldo either.
He steered well away from his genuine competitors, instead opting to be one of three players to put Thiago on top.
Cristiano Ronaldo
1st: Robert Lewandowski
2nd: Lionel Messi
3rd: Kylian Mbappe
Fair play to Ronaldo, who looks like one of the few players to genuinely try and vote fairly this year... probably because he knew he was never going to win anyway.
Getaneh Kebede
1st: Robert Lewandowski
2nd: Not Counted
3rd: Sadio Mane
Not counted?
Ethiopia captain Kebede was right on the money with Lewandowski, but who was his number two? I need to know!
Was it just so stupid that FIFA couldn't justify including it in the breakdown? Did he make up a player? Did he try and sneak Danny Drinkwater in there and act like nobody would notice?