David Alaba has sadly been forced to take to social media to explain his vote in the FIFA The Best award.
Real Madrid fans were very angry at the Austrian defender, who voted for Lionel Messi over his teammate Karim Benzema.
On Monday night, Argentinian forward Lionel Messi was crowned world's best male footballer of the year in the annual FIFA awards with 52 votes. The awards are voted upon by international coaches and captains.
He was followed by Kylian Mbappe in second place with 44 votes. Karim Benzema - who guided Real Madrid to the Champions League title - finished third with 34 votes.
David Alaba and Real Madrid fans tension
There was surprise and uproar amongst some Real Madrid supporters when it was revealed that their player David Alaba had cast his #1 vote for Barcelona legend Leo Messi.
Many simply expected him to vote for his Real Madrid teammate Benzema.
Sadly, a number of Madrid used the vote as an occasion to racially abuse Alaba. Many monkey emojis was found under Alaba's most recent Instagram post. Alongside those inappropriate emojis, we could also find a lot of "#ALABAOUT" comments.
These comments are particularly depressing because Real Madrid fans have criticised the Spanish FA for not taking more severe action against supporters who made racist comments about their winger Vinicius Junior.
David Alaba was then forced to release an official statement on both Instagram and Twitter this morning explaining his reasons for voting for Messi. He says that his vote was not a personal decision but a decision taken by all the members of the Austrian team.
Regarding FIFA The Best Award:
The Austrian national team vote 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.
Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances— David Alaba (@David_Alaba) February 28, 2023
Alaba should never have had to explain his reasons for voting Messi as the Player of the Year. It's another sad day for football fandom in the digital age.
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