Mohamed Salah’s top 3 votes for FIFA The Best men’s player award revealed as he snubs all of Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah's votes for the FIFA The Best men's player award have been revealed and he interestingly snubbed Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

Messi won the prize for his heroics with Argentina in their triumphant 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, with Mbappe, the top-scorer in the competition, coming second.

Having won three titles with Real Madrid in the 2022 calendar year, including the La Liga and Champions League double, Benzema, who albeit missed the Qatar showpiece for Les Bleus, finished third.

Now that the ceremony is done and dusted, FIFA have released the votes of national team captains, and Egyptian skipper Salah made some interesting choices.

Madrid Zone

@theMadridZone

Mohamed Salah voted for Vinícius Jr. as the best player in the world. #FIFABest

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Mohamed Salah voted for Vinícius Jr. as the best player in the world. #FIFABest https://t.co/OCylbSL1wr

His top pick for the award was Vinicius Junior, who scored the winning goal for Los Blancos over Salah's Liverpool in last year's Champions League final.

He named a direct rival in Kevin De Bruyne in second place, with the Belgian powering Manchester City to a second consecutive Premier League title last season.

Moroccan ace Achraf Hakimi was Salah's third choice. The right-back oversaw a wonderful year with PSG in 2022 and starred for the Atlas Lions in Qatar as they reached the semi-finals.

The Liverpool star notably kept out Lionel Messi despite the latter's World Cup triumph, while also snubbing French stars Mbappe and Benzema.

Eric Njiru

@EricNjiiru

Egypt captain Mo Salah voted for:
1. Vini Jr
2. KDB
3. Hakimi

1. Alisson
2. Courtois
3. Ederson

1. Ancelotti
2. Pep Guardiola
3. Walid Regragui

#TheBest

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Egypt captain Mo Salah voted for:
1. Vini Jr 🇧🇷
2. KDB 🇧🇪
3. Hakimi 🇲🇦

1. Alisson 🇧🇷
2. Courtois 🇧🇪
3. Ederson 🇧🇷

1. Ancelotti
2. Pep Guardiola
3. Walid Regragui

#TheBest https://t.co/gUlch0Dmho

Salah himself came in 14th place for the award, garnering only two points despite claiming the FA Cup and Carabao Cup double last year, while also finishing as the Premier League's joint top-scorer with 22 goals.

Liverpool's European final defeat, coupled with Egypt's inability to even qualify for the 2022 World Cup, surely affected Salah's rankings.

He also failed to make the cut into FIFA's best XI, with Virgil van Dijk being the only Liverpool player named in it.

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Lionel Messi continues to pick up individual honors

Even at 35 years of age, there's no stopping Lionel Messi from winning top individual honors and last night's 'The Best' prize was the sixth of his career.

With an additional seven Ballon d'Ors in his bag, the Argentine boasts a trophy cabinet unlike no one else and could be set for a record-extending eighth Golden Ball later this year.

Messi is having a wonderful campaign with PSG, both collectively and individually, and the former Barcelona ace has also vowed to continue playing for his national team despite winning the World Cup.

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