It may lack the glamor and prestige of the Ballon d'Or, but FIFA's Best Awards still make headlines every year.
The ceremony was held on Tuesday, December 18, where awards were distributed to players and coaches, along with Vinicius Junior To avenge the Ballon d'Or snub By receiving the FIFA World Player of the Year award for the 2024 calendar year.
The Brazilian beat recent Ballon d'Or champion Rodri, as well as Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Lamine Yamal and others. It was the first victory for the Real Madrid winger, who was voted for by a group of national team captains, coaches, journalists and fans.
While Vinicius was the deserved winner of FIFA Men's Football's Grand Prix, there were a few votes that raised some eyebrows.
Voting for individual soccer awards often results in teammates and citizens sticking together and supporting each other. It is clear that this note was not passed on to England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who decided not to give his international friend Bellingham First place in his top three votes.
Ken Bellingham only placed second, while Rodri finished first and winner Vinicius came in third. England's all-time leading goalscorer picked the winning podium, even if all his picks were out of order.
Bellingham picked up the bronze medal in the FIFA World Player of the Year vote after an exciting year with Real Madrid. He won La Liga and the Champions League with Los Blancos, while also helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.
Lionel Messi You don't have to do much to appear on the shortlist for major football awards these days. The diminutive magician, who has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times, won the Copa America in 2024, but was arguably not among the top 11 male footballers in the world.
This was perhaps a sentiment shared by Argentine journalist Claudio Mauri, who did not vote for Messi in the top three. Instead, he chose Rodri, Lamine Yamal and Toni Kroos.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni voted for Messi, putting him in first place, and the World Cup-winning coach was not alone. However, Messi did not trouble the top five in the end, finishing sixth.
Messi himself voted for teenager Yamal in first place, and his connections at Barcelona are likely to influence his decision.
Erling Haaland was one of the less popular options among voters, finishing eighth after a slightly underwhelming 2024 by his incredibly lofty standards. The Manchester City striker won the Premier League and was named the league's top scorer in the 2023/24 season, but was overshadowed by his teammate Rodri.
Norway and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard clearly felt the same way. He placed his international team-mate in third place, ahead of both Rodri and Vinicius, while Norway coach Stahl Solbakken placed Haaland in second place.
Haaland was also excluded from first place by Norwegian media representative Morten Pedersen, who, like Odegaard, chose him in third place.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that international coaches only watch football for a few months a year based on a vote of the best. Many national team presidents have conjured strange rankings in the top three, none more so than Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.
The rogue top three of Florian Wirtz (1st), Federico Valverde (2nd) and Lamine Yamal (3rd) will have surprised a few people, with Rodri and Vinicius both overlooked.
Unsurprisingly, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann chose Germans Wirtz and Toni Kroos, ignoring Vinicius as a result, while Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco chose Yamal, Wirtz and Haaland as his preferred trio.
Some questionable decisions there.
