Austrian Real Madrid defender David Alaba was the only Real Madrid player to vote for Lionel Messi ahead of Karim Benzema for the FIFA The Best award. As a result, the Paris Saint-Germain star would take the honor.  
David Alaba, Real Madrid's Spanish defender, defended against strong criticism from his club's fans, after revealing that he had chosen Argentine star Lionel Messi as the best player in the world at the expense of fellow French star Karim Benzema.
Alaba was forced to take to social media to defend himself, explaining in a statement that his vote was on behalf of the entire Austrian team, and he reiterated that he felt Benzema was still the best striker in the world.
Real Madrid defender David Alaba has opened up about his decision to choose Lionel Messi over teammate Karim Benzema as his top pick for the Best FIFA Men's Player award of 2022. The Austrian captain insisted that the entire national team has a say in the vote and it was not decided by himself alone.
Alaba received harsh abuse for his vote to snub Karim Benzema in favor of Lionel Messi as massive outrage from fans took place on social media.
The former Bayern Munich man took to Instagram to defend his decision and wrote:
"Regarding FIFA The Best Award: The Austrian national team voted for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that's how it's decided."
Expressing his love and admiration for his Real Madrid teammate, Alaba added:
"Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without a doubt."
This caused the anger of a large segment of the royal club's fans, who demanded the Austrian defender's departure, after he preferred Messi to Benzema in his choices for the award, by launching a hashtag for the player's departure.