Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Argentina’s Lionel Messi has run away with the title of best player in the world at this year’s Ballon d’Or after garnering the most number of votes from a combined panel of national team captains, coaches, and select members of the media.
But apparently, the Barcelona goal-scorer did not do enough this year to claim top honors in the eyes of the representatives from the Philippine Azkals.
Both team captain Phil Younghusband and head coach Thomas Dooley had a say on who wins the trophy and had to select their top three players.
A top choice gave five points to a candidate’s total tally, while second and third picks garnered candidates three points and a single point, respectively.
Younghusband selected third place finisher Neymar as his top pick, while eventual winner Messi was picked second and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard was selected third.
Former American World Cup star Thomas Dooley also did not select Messi as his top pick, and opted instead to select his rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Dooley picked out Messi as second in the world, while German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer rounded out his selection.
Despite not winning the Philippine national team’s favor, Lionel Messi still ran out as the clear winner with 41.33 percent of the total votes going his way.
Messi’s Real Madrid counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo came in second with 27.76 percent, and Barcelona teammate Neymar rounded out the top three with 7.86 percent.
See how all the world’s national team captains and coaches voted here.
Related: Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi ends Cristiano Ronaldo’s winning streak
