The coach and captains votes from The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021

Football’s biggest stars will be celebrated on Monday night at the ceremony for The Best FIFA Awards 2022.

After last year’s virtual event, the 2023 ceremony will be held in Paris where the sport’s biggest names will surface in celebration of yet another unforgettable year.

Nine awards will be dished out on Monday night, with the shortlists for each of them being revealed well in advance. There are three nominees for each; with Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema, and Kylian Mbappe vying for the Best Men’s Player award.

While the Ballon d’Or victor is decided by 100 journalists, this award takes into account the opinions of not only media representatives, but national team coaches, national team captains and fans, too.

While the voting can somewhat be predictable, it’s still interesting to see which way coaches and players swing. Here’s how some of the most notable national team managers and captains voted last year for the Best Men’s Player award.

There was plenty of teammate bias on display during last year’s voting. Karim Benzema received votes from Real Madrid friends Luka Modric and Eden Hazard, as well as compatriot Hugo Lloris.

Robert Lewandowski received the backing of former Bayern Munich teammates Manuel Neuer and David Alaba, while Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo also opted to vote for the eventual winner of the award.

Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson were loyal to Mohamed Salah, while Lionel Messi voted for longtime friend Neymar just ahead of Kylian Mbappe.

A similar pattern manifests with the managers’ votes. Roberto Mancini favoured Jorginho, Roberto Martinez backed Kevin De Bruyne, while Didier Deschamps voted for Benzema.

N’Golo Kante interestingly picked up first-place votes from Louis van Gaal and Fernando Santos; a sign of the respect the Frenchman has garnered among elite-level coaches. Cristiano Ronaldo did not make Santos’ top three.