Karim Benzema's activity on Instagram during the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on Monday night has raised plenty of eyebrows amongst fans.
After a memorable 2022 that included his first World Cup win, Lionel Messi was named Best FIFA Men's Player at the showcase event, beating French pair Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the gong.
The Argentine took to the stage in Paris to collect his second FIFA Men's Player award, saying: "It's amazing. It's an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award.
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"Without my team-mates I wouldn't be here. It was an amazing year and I achieved the dream that I've been hoping for so long and finally, I managed to achieve it."
In the moments after Messi's speech, plenty of people came to the conclusion that Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was far from happy with the decision.
Benzema, who didn't attend the ceremony on Monday night, posted a video to his Instagram story that says: "Liar, yes, you liar."
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In fact, the French forward posted a caption below the video that read: "Good night."
Benzema was nominated for the award but Lionel Messi earned his win with a total of 52 points. Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, came in second with 44 points before Benzema was announced in third with 32 points.
Real Madrid trio Benzema, Thibaut Courtois and Carlo Ancelotti were all nominated for a Best FIFA Football Award on Monday night, but none of the above were present.
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Lionel Messi, who was named in the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11, decided to vote for Benzema ahead of the ceremony on Monday.
Messi was eligible to cast votes for the awards ceremony due to his captain status for Argentina.
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Each captain could select up to three players to vote for in a category, with their first pick earning five points, second pick receiving three and the third pick scoring only one point.
According to FIFA’s official website, Messi ranked PSG teammate Neymar as his first pick and France forward Mbappe as his second.
He then awarded his final vote to Benzema, who lifted the La Liga title and Champions League trophy with Real Madrid last season.
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Thoughts on Benzema's reaction during the FIFA Best awards? Do you think he deserved to win the FIFA Men's Player trophy ahead of Messi?
Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, FIFA
Jack Kenmare