Lionel Messi has done it again. The Argentine superstar surpassed expectations earlier this week, bagging the FIFA The Best Men’s Award, beating Kylin Mbappe and Erling Haaland to the coveted title. Despite the significant milestone, several fans are not impressed and believe La Pulga’s friends were partial and voted for the Argentine. However, it seems not everyone voted for the Inter Miami star, with Messi’s former teammate Neymar Jr confirming that he did not vote for La Pulga.

The Inter Miami star stunned everyone after bagging the prestigious award earlier this week. However, not everyone was impressed with the decision, with former Real Madrid star Iker Casillas questioning the Argentine’s win. While La Pulga tied on votes with Haaland, the Albiceleste skipper edged past his competitor, earning more votes from national soccer team captains. 

Neymar refutes voting for ex-teammate

The Al Hilal star took to his social media to react to La Pulga’s historic FIFA The Best Award win. While many fans claimed the Brazilian had voted for his ex-teammate, the ex-PSG star quickly refuted those claims. Neymar commented on an Instagram post that he stated he voted for Messi, claiming, “I didn’t vote for anyone.”

It is a big surprise as fans expected people close to Messi to vote for the Argentine. Notably, La Pulga and Erling Haaland finished with the same number of votes. However, instead of naming both players as winners, the decision was then taken to a decider by counting which player received more votes from national captains.

As always, while one section of fans believe Messi deserved to win the award, some fans believe Haaland should have won the award over Messi. Ex-Real Madrid star Iker Casillas penned his thoughts on the decision, calling it a sham.

READ MORE: Absent Erling Haaland’s Father Shares a 2-Word Response to Lionel Messi’s FIFA the Best Player 2023 Win

Casillas slams FIFA for giving The Best Award to Lionel Messi

While fans applauded Messi’s win, some have openly criticized the decision. Los Blancos icon Iker Casillas was not impressed with FIFA’s decision, and he took to his social media to criticize the decision. He stated, “You create some nice prizes and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. ‘The Smile’ more like. Anyway, good night!”

However, not everyone has the same tone as Casillas. Former English star Garry Lineker was full of praise for Messi following his win. Lineker congratulated Messi through a post stating, “8 The Best awards. 8 Ballon d’Ors. 17 consecutive years in the team of the year. Winner of everything. What a truly remarkable career.”

Do you think Lionel Messi deserved to win FIFA The Best Award over Erling Haaland? Let us know in the comments below.

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