FIFA Best player 2019: Messi voted for Sadio Mane as best player.

• FIFA Best player award saw Lionel Messi beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk to be named the player of the year
• Messi had a fantastic season with Barcelona helping them to win the league
• The Argentine talisman however picked Sadio Mane as his candidate for the prestigious award
• Mane was impressive for Liverpool last season, claiming the EPL Golden Boot award and the Champions League

Ronaldo gave the awards ceremony hosted in Milan, Italy a wide berth by completing the top three with 36 percent of the votes.

Whereas Van Dijk picked Messi to win the award, Ronaldo surprisingly settled for ex-Ajax defender and his current team-mate at Juventus Matthijs de Ligt – omitting Messi entirely from his top three.

Messi’s choice of the top three however included Ronaldo but his no.1 choice is what left everyone stunned.
The Argentine star picked Sadio Mane who had an arguably superb campaign in the 2018/19 campaign.

The Senegalese forward helped Liverpool to their Champions League triumph and a second-place finish for the Reds in the Premier League as he bagged the Golden Boot award.
He however finished fifth in a top 10 list that was dominated with Liverpool players.

Votes were counted from the world’s international captains, their managers and a selected media personality from each country.
Each individual is required to pick three candidates, with their top choice earning five points, their second raking in three points and the third-placed player one point.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Cristiano Ronaldo was snubbed as Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Player of the Year for the sixth time in his career.
The Barcelona talisman beat his fiercest rival and Liverpool’s center-back Virgil Van Dijk to claim the award.
Messi last won the award four years ago but the 32-year-old’s contribution in Barcelona’s La Liga title winning run and the European golden boot was enough for him to win the accolade.