The FIFA The Best awards ceremony, a streamlined event held in Qatar on Tuesday, saw Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid claim the coveted Men’s Player of the Year award. The ceremony was notably attended by a significant portion of the Real Madrid squad, currently in Qatar for Wednesday’s Intercontinental Cup final against Pachuca. The win for Vinícius Júnior follows his absence from the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Fellow Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé, also nominated, finished a distant ninth in the voting, receiving only 14 points. This places him far behind Vinícius Júnior (48 points), Rodri (43 points), Jude Bellingham (37 points), Dani Carvajal (31 points), Lamine Yamal (30 points), Lionel Messi (25 points), Toni Kroos (18 points), and Erling Haaland (18 points).
Further adding to his relatively low profile at the awards ceremony, Mbappé was also left off the FIFA World XI, which featured Haaland, Yamal, and Vinícius Júnior in the forward positions.
This led to speculation about Mbappé’s The Best voting choice, given his role as captain of the French national team. However, a surprising revelation emerged: Mbappé’s vote was notably absent from FIFA’s official list of captain’s votes. In fact, no player from the French national team submitted a vote, a highly unusual occurrence.
While several national teams with far smaller profiles, including Timor-Leste, Botswana, Anguilla, and Lesotho, had their captain’s votes registered, France was noticeably absent. This omission has certainly raised many questions and eyebrows. France’s coach, Didier Deschamps, did submit a ballot, placing Vinícius Júnior above Mbappé and Rodri below him.
The final votes were composed of the votes from the captains, head coaches, a selection of journalists, and the general public. French journalist Cyrille De La Morinerie notably also excluded Mbappé from his top three choices, opting for the order in which the awards were presented: Vinícius Júnior, Rodri, and Jude Bellingham.
The reasons behind Mbappé’s omission from the voting remain unclear. He has not commented publicly on the matter through social media. This non-participation adds another layer of intrigue to what has been a relatively underwhelming season for the French forward at Real Madrid.
Following his high-profile move from PSG, expectations were high, but his 12 goals and 2 assists in 22 matches this season have fallen short of expectations. He has the opportunity to claim a second trophy with Real Madrid by winning the Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca at the Lusail Stadium on Wednesday, following their Super Cup victory earlier in the year.
