affront? Austrian defends himself
Real fans rage about Alaba’s world footballer choice
02/28/2023 1:12 p.m
David Alaba does not put his Madrid club colleague Karim Benzema in first place in the world footballer election, but Lionel Messi. The outcry, oh, the outrage among the Real Madrid fans is great. The Austrian now explains how the decision came about.
After much excitement among fans of Real Madrid, professional footballer David Alaba has publicly justified his vote in the FIFA election for world footballer. “Austria’s national team voted for this award as a team, not just me,” said the real professional on social media: “Everyone on the team council can vote, and that’s how it was decided. Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his achievements.”
As captain of the Austrian national team, Alaba had placed his Madrid club colleague Karim Benzema in second place behind the winner Lionel Messi. As a result, Benzema received two points fewer than the Argentine world champion for the overall standings. This was hotly debated by Real fans on social media, and the hashtag #AlabaOut even trended briefly on Twitter. Violent insults, including racist ones, rained down on the Austrian.
The 30-year-old Alaba recalled how often he had described Benzema as “the best striker in the world”. The former Bayern professional added: “And that’s still the case. Without a doubt.” The players and coach Carlo Ancelotti from Champions League winner Real Madrid went empty-handed at the gala on Monday evening.
Since the official voting behavior is made public by the world association FIFA through election lists, it is like a sports policy every year. In addition to the national coaches and captains of each FIFA member country, fans and selected journalists are also entitled to vote in the award for the best footballer. National coach Hansi Flick and national team captain Manuel Neuer voted for Messi, as did Alaba.