He may have won the FIFA player of the year award for a record sixth time, but Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr does not think Lionel Messi’s was one of the top three players in the world last year according to the voting results that were released last night.
Messi picked up his sixth world player of the year award at the FIFA best awards show that was held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
The Barcelona captain took the biggest individual award in football after winning 46 per cent of the scoring points ahead of Virgil Van Dijk who got 38 per cent, while Cristiano Ronaldo came third with 36 per cent.
However, it was not all the national team managers that believed Messi was the best player of the past one year with Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr one of them.
In the voting breakdown that was released after the winners were announced, there was no room for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in the former Bordeaux manager’s top three.
The 66-year-old German tactician instead went for Kylian Mbappe as his best player in the past year ahead of Virgil Van Dijk and Eden Hazard who both completed his top three.
This is how #LeoMessi voted 🗳️
But what about everyone else? See who voted for who for #TheBest FIFA Men's Player here: https://t.co/pJAjcRMG1x#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/l3aKDXvVyF
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Rohr’s top three players in the world are the stark contrast of that of his captain Ahmed Musa. On the coaching side, however, the former Burkina Faso manager voted Jurgen Klopp as the coach of the year ahead of Algeria’s Belmadi Djamel and Didier Deschamps.