Messi took the top honour with 46 per cent of the vote, with Van Dijk receiving 38 per cent and Ronaldo 36 per cent; Revealed: Messi voted for Mane but Ronaldo didn't pick Messi in his top three
Tuesday 24 September 2019 11:28, UK
After Lionel Messi was confirmed as Best FIFA Player of the Year, the votes of top stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk have been revealed.
The award was decided by a collection of votes, coming from the captains of each international team, their managers and designated media officials from each country.
Messi took the top honour with 46 per cent of the scoring points, with Van Dijk receiving 38 per cent and Ronaldo 36 per cent.
Each voting individual had to make three selections: a first-placed player who would receive five points, a second-placed player to receive three points and a third-placed player to receive one point.
Following the ceremony, FIFA revealed the breakdown of the vote, with some interesting surprises among the selections.
Messi went for Liverpool winger Sadio Mane and had Ronaldo as his second pick, but Ronaldo did not return the favour, omitting Messi from his top three while opting for Juventus team-mate Matthijs de Ligt as his first option.
England boss Gareth Southgate voted for Lionel Messi - not Harry Kane - as did Liverpool defender Van Dijk and Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Kane did get a vote from Tottenham team-mate Heung-Min Son, though.
Wales manager Ryan Giggs went for his former Manchester United team-mate Ronaldo, as did his former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric and Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Manuel Neuer picked Van Dijk alongside Steve Clarke, Mick McCarthy and Michael O'Neill but Sergio Ramos opted for Eden Hazard - who himself joined Messi in picking Mane.
Here are some of the top picks of the votes of some more notable players and managers - and scroll to the bottom of the article to see the top ten - featuring Kane, three Liverpool players in the top five and no Raheem Sterling or Neymar.
Gareth Southgate - England coach
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd) Virgil van Dijk
Steve Clarke - Scotland coach
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Kylian Mbappe (3rd) Sadio Mane
Ryan Giggs - Wales coach
(1st) Cristiano Ronaldo (2nd) Lionel Messi (3rd) Virgil van Dijk
Mick McCarthy - Republic of Ireland coach
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Frenkie de Jong (3rd) Harry Kane
Michael O'Neill - Northern Ireland coach
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Mohamed Salah (3rd) Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi - Argentina captain
(1st) Sadio Mane (2nd) Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd) Frenkie de Jong
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal captain
(1st) Matthijs de Ligt (2nd) Frenkie de Jong (3rd) Kylian Mbappe
Harry Kane - England captain
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Cristiano Ronaldo
Luka Modric - Croatia captain
(1st) Cristiano Ronaldo (2nd) Eden Hazard (3rd) Lionel Messi
Hugo Lloris - France captain
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd) Kylian Mbappe
Manuel Neuer - Germany captain
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Sadio Mane (3rd) Eden Hazard
Virgil van Dijk - Netherlands captain
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Mohamed Salah (3rd) Sadio Mane
Sergio Ramos - Spain captain
(1st) Eden Hazard (2nd) Cristiano Ronaldo (3rd) Mohamed Salah
Eden Hazard - Belgium captain
(1st) Sadio Mane (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Lionel Messi
Seamus Coleman - Republic of Ireland captain
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Cristiano Ronaldo
Andrew Robertson - Scotland captain
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Frenkie de Jong (3rd) Sadio Mane
Granit Xhaka - Switzerland captain
(1st) Cristiano Ronaldo (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Lionel Messi
Heung-Min Son - South Korea captain
(1st) Harry Kane (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Cristiano Ronaldo
Ashley Williams - Wales captain
(1st) Virgil van Dijk (2nd) Eden Hazard (3rd) Frenkie de Jong
Steven Davis - Northern Ireland captain
(1st) Lionel Messi (2nd) Virgil van Dijk (3rd) Sadio Mane
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
5. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
7. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)
8. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)
9. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus)
10. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
