After being attacked online for voting for Lionel Messi ahead of Karim Benzema for the FIFA The Best Men's Player award, a Real Madrid star has broken his silence to explain his side of the story.
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On Monday, Austria international David Alaba received racist abuse online after his three votes for the 2022 FIFA The Best Men's player prize emerged.
The 30-year-old picked ex-Barcelona forward Messi ahead of his teammate Benzema, who helped Los Blancos claim the LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League titles last year.
The hashtag #AlabaOut began to trend online in response to his votes being made public by FIFA, leading to the defender explaining that he took his international colleagues' opinions into consideration when making his choice.
"The Austrian national team vote for this award as a team, not me alone. Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that's how it's decided," he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
"Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances and I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without doubt."
Alaba had Benzema in second place, while his third-place vote went to France international Kylian Mbappe.
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