Stephen Kenny and Seamus Coleman differ on The Best.
Seamus Coleman and Stephen Kenny had differing selections when it came to who should be crowned as The Best Fifa Men’s Player of 2022.
At a lavish ceremony in Paris on Monday night, Lionel Messi took home the crown for the second time since its rebrand from the Fifa World Player of the Year award in 2016.
As always, the vote was decided by national team coaches and captains from around the world, as well as media representatives from each country.
Seamus Coleman picks Messi to win prize.
The full list of who voted for who is now available and it has been revealed that Kenny voted for Kylian Mbappe to win the prize, while Coleman was very much ‘Team Messi’.
Messi and Mbappe both lit up the World Cup in Qatar back in December, with the former coming out on top against his Paris Saint-Germain teammate when Argentina beat France in a thrilling final.
This was clearly enough for Coleman to place Messi in first position, followed by Mbappe in second and current Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema in third.
Stephen Kenny vote.
Kenny plumped for Mbappe to win, which is an indication of the esteem in which he holds the forward ahead of France’s visit to Dublin for a Euro 2024 qualifier at the end of March.
The Ireland boss placed Messi at number two, followed by Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in third.
Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis’ top-3 selection mirrored that of Coleman, as did the choice of recently-reappointed manager Michael O’Neill, although he had Benzema in second place ahead of Mbappe.
Club loyalties may have influenced the vote of Scotland skipper Andy Robertson, as he had Liverpool teammate Mo Salah in third place, behind Messi and Mbappe in first and second respectively.
The Best vote.
Robertson’s national team boss Steve Clarke also went for Messi and Mbappe in first and second, followed by Luka Modric in third.
England captain Harry Kane had Sadio Mane in second place between Messi and Benzema, while Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate had Messi, Modric and Mbappe in that order.
Interestingly, as Argentina captain, Messi voted for PSG teammate Neymar to win the prize, with Mbappe and Benzema in second and third place.
The full list of captain and manager votes for the 2022 The Best Award can be found here.
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