FIFA have published the full breakdown of just who voted for who in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award polling and the Toe Poke has rooted through the data so you don’t have to.
The votes were cast by all international captains and coaches, as well as selected media representatives from each FIFA member nation, with everybody asked to pick their top three players from a 10-man shortlist.
Luka Modric won the award after helping Real Madrid win a third consecutive Champions League crown and captaining Croatia to the World Cup final.
The final result was as follows (percentage of vote in brackets):
1. Luka Modric (29.05)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (19.08)
3. Mohamed Salah (11.23)
4. Kylian Mbappe (10.52)
5. Lionel Messi (9.81)
6. Antoine Griezmann (6.69)
7. Eden Hazard (5.65)
8. Kevin De Bruyne (3.54)
9. Raphael Varane (3.45)
10. Harry Kane (0.98)
Here are some of the most notable nuggets the voting data revealed:
For the first time ever, Lionel Messi voted for Cristiano Ronaldo (as his third pick) but Ronaldo did not return the favour.
Instead, the Portugal captain chose to extend a hand across the Madrid divide by giving his third selection to Antoine Griezmann.
Luka Modric did likewise, voting for Raphael Varane, Ronaldo and Griezmann in that order.
Raphael Varane attracted a lot of votes, with Ronaldo and Modric even selecting him as their No.1 pick.
The France and Real Madrid centre-back earned 53 votes across the board — the most of any defender.
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