The world footballer election has caused a lot of fuss – and a double humiliation for Cristiano Ronaldo!
For one thing, as captain of the Portuguese national team, CR7 was actually one of those entitled to vote. But apparently not he, but former Real teammate Pepe cast the Portuguese vote. This emerges from the official documents of FIFA, which identify Pepe as captain and thus as a voter.
That does not necessarily mean that the 40-year-old also voted alone, Austria captain David Alaba said after a shitstorm against him that his first vote against Real colleague Karim Benzema and for Lionel Messi was a vote of the entire team. Still, it’s a pointer.
Has CR7 been quietly sawn off as captain by newly appointed Portugal coach Roberto Martínez? “I hope we can sit down with him and put together the best team,” Martínez said at his inaugural press conference. However, the ex-Belgium coach also indicated: “We will start a football process to get to know all the players.” An official demotion of Ronaldo sounds different.
It is doubtful whether the Portuguese superstar would have given his voice to his eternal rival and world footballer-winning actor Lionel Messi. Neither did Pepe, who voted for Kylian Mbappé as the world’s best professional footballer and his former Real colleagues Luka Modric and Karim Benzema in second and third place.
On the other hand, FIFA caused a stir. A video clip during the ceremony showed Ronaldo at his new Qatari club Al-Nassr – on the bench!
The clip was not the first time that FIFA CR7 disregarded, wrote a fan on Twitter. “Not good looks for FIFA to disregard a legend of the game like that,” said another user of FIFA’s social media platform, not entirely new.
The fact that Ronaldo’s time is finally coming to an end also makes it clear that for the first time since 2007 he has not appeared in the FIFPro world eleven.
The incidents in the world footballer election are a symbol of a grueling 2022 calendar year for Ronaldo.
