Here’s Why Cristiano Ronaldo Abstained From Voting as Lionel Messi’s Argentina Sweep the Best FIFA Awards

The legend of Lionel Messi continues to grow as he claimed his second soccer FIFA Best Men’s Player award for the second time. Usually, the national team captains would get an opportunity to vote. As everyone expected Cristiano Ronaldo to vote, he failed to cast one this time. Instead, his former teammate Pepe cast a vote to determine the winner. The veteran Ronaldo did not feature in the nomination ballot this time around. 

After a controversial second spell at Manchester United, Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabian League. He plays for Al-Nassr now and enjoyed a stunning start to the season. But Ronaldo, not voting for his favorite rival, came as a surprise. 

Cristiano Ronaldo fails to vote for The Best awards

Being the captain of Portugal, Ronaldo did not vote this time. But, he did not take responsibility as Pepe voted this time. His first pick was France’s lethal striker Kylian Mbappe while he voted for his former colleagues, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema. Despite Ronaldo’s decision to note vote, the new Portugal boss had other ideas.

He voted for Messi and made his mark in the awards ceremony. Likewise, the coach of the year went to the Argentinian coach Lionel Scaloni while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the best goalkeeper award. 

In the meantime, Messi voted for his colleagues Neymar and Mbappe, and his third vote went to Benzema. After a poor season with Manchester United, Ronaldo failed to receive a nomination this time. The forward, though, scored two back-to-back hat tricks for his new club. 

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As for Messi, he is having a stunning season with PSG. During the awards ceremony, a gleeful Messi commented, “Wow, it’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous year, and it’s an honor for me to be here tonight and win this award.”

A rivalry for ages

As a fan of soccer, it’s been a pleasure to watch these titans battle it out on the grandest stage of them all. For the best part of 15 years, they dominated the game like no one else. Although new players arose to the top, the feats replicated by Messi and CR7 would be hard to match. They have a combined total of 12 Ballon d’Ors, 1409 goals, and 502 assists between them. That’s ridiculous. 

While Ronaldo is probably the master goalscorer, Messi is a well-rounded player. Both are unique in their way, and it’s hard to separate them. Therefore, as years go by, their legend will grow. They enter folklore as two of the best players to ever play the game of soccer. 

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