England coach Roy Hodgson caused a stir with his voting for the FIFA Ballon d’Or after omitting both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi from his top three.
Ronaldo claimed the award for the second successive year after winning 37.66 per cent of all votes, while four-time world player of the year Messi was second with 15.76 per cent, just ahead of Manuel Neuer (15.72 per cent).
Instead of plumping for the two players widely regarded as the best on the planet, Hodgson opted for Javier Mascherano as his top pick, with Philipp Lahm second and Neuer third.
Only one other international manager selected Barcelona and Argentina midfielder Mascherano as their first choice for the award –Belarus boss Andrei Zygmanto-vitch – and Hodgson’s picks have certainly created waves on social media.
Former England captain Gary Lineker was among those to tweet their surprise, saying of Hodgson: “You have to love his sense of humour. Ronaldo and Messi are far and away the best players on the planet, how could they both possibly not be in your top 3?”
Hodgson is not the first England boss to stray from the norm when it comes to FIFA Ballon d’Or voting, though, with Fabio Capello going for Maicon as one of his top three selections in 2010.
Meanwhile, neither Ronaldo nor Messi voted for each other for the 2014 award either.
Ronaldo, as captain of Portugal, plumped for his Real Madrid team-mates Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
Argentina skipper Messi, meanwhile, also chose some familiar faces with his international colleagues Angel Di Maria and Mas-cherano placed either side of Barca colleague Andres Iniesta.
Facts and figures
The Ballon d’Or votes were submitted by 181 national team coaches, 182 national team captains and 181 media representatives.
37.66 – the percentage of total votes won by Ronaldo.
0.04 – the gap in per cent between second-placed Messi (15.76) and third-placed Neuer (15.72).
17 – The number of coaches who did not have either Ronaldo or Messi in their top three.
Five – The number of coaches who did not have any of Ronaldo, Messi or Neuer in their top three.
10 – The number of goals conceded by a Brazil defence including David Luiz in their final two World Cup matches. Luiz was included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI team.
Zero – The number of trophies Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta, who was also included in the FIFPro World XI side, won in 2014.
Three – The number of trophies won by Germany forward Thomas Mueller in 2014. He was not included in the FIFPro World XI side.
Seven – The number of captains to vote the most expensive player Gareth Bale in their top three.