The most surprising votes from The Best FIFA Men's Player award | OneFootball

It may lack the glamour and prestige of the Ballon d'Or but FIFA's The Best awards still write headlines each year.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday 18 December as awards were distributed for players and coaches, with Vinicius Junior avenging his Ballon d'Or snub by scooping The Best FIFA Men's Player for the calendar year of 2024.

The Brazilian beat out the recent Ballon d'Or champion Rodri as well as Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Lamine Yamal and others. It was a first triumph for the Real Madrid winger, who was voted for by a mixture of national team captains and coaches, journalists and supporters.

While Vinicius was a worthy winner of FIFA's top prize in men's football, there were some votes that raised a few eyebrows.

Harry Kane snubs Jude Bellingham for top spot

Let's hope Bellingham doesn't hold grudges / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

The voting for individual football awards often sees teammates and compatriots stick together and support one another. That memo was evidently not passed to England skipper and Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane, who decided against awarding his international chum Bellingham first place in his top three vote.

Kane only placed Bellingham in second, with Rodri taking top spot and winner Vinicius coming third. England's record goalscorer selected the winning podium, even if all of his selections were out of order.

Bellingham secured bronze in The Best FIFA Men's Player vote following a sensational calendar year with Real Madrid. He won La Liga and the Champions League with Los Blancos, while also helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.

Argentinian media ignore Lionel Messi

Messi didn't receive any votes from the Argentinian media / Marcelo Endelli/GettyImages

Lionel Messi doesn't have to do too much to appear on the shortlist for football's top prizes these days. The diminutive magician, who has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times, triumphed at the Copa America in 2024 but was arguably not among the world's 11 best male footballers.

That was perhaps a sentiment shared by Argentinian journalist Claudio Mauri, who didn't vote for Messi in his top three. He instead opted for Rodri, Lamine Yamal and Toni Kroos.

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni did vote for Messi, putting him in first place, and the World Cup-winning coach was not alone. However, Messi didn't trouble the top five in the end, finishing in sixth.

Messi himself voted for teenager Yamal in top spot, with his Barcelona connections likely influencing his decision.

Erling Haaland doesn't receive Norwegian backing

Haaland was overlooked by several compatriots / Carl Recine/GettyImages

Erling Haaland was one of the least popular options among voters, finishing in eighth spot after a slightly underwhelming 2024 by his own incredibly lofty standards. The Manchester City forward did win the Premier League and finish as the division's top scorer in 2023/24, but was overshadowed by teammate Rodri.

Evidently Norway and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard felt the same. He put his international teammate in third, placing both Rodri and Vinicius ahead of him, with Norway manager Stale Solbakken putting Haaland second.

Haaland was also snubbed for top spot by Norwegian media representative Morten Pedersen, who, like Odegaard, selected him in third place.

International managers go rogue

Switzerland manager Murat Yakin assembled a strange top three / Daniela Porcelli/GettyImages

You would be forgiven for thinking that international managers only watch football for a few months of the year based on The Best voting. Many national team bosses conjured up strange top three rankings, no more so than Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.

A rogue top three of Florian Wirtz (1st), Federico Valverde (2nd) and Lamine Yamal (3rd) will have surprised a fair few, with Rodri and Vinicius both ignored.

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann unsurprisingly selected Germans Wirtz and Toni Kroos, omitting Vinicius as a result, while Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco selected Yamal, Wirtz and Haaland as his preferred three.

Some questionable decisions there.