Lionel Messi Chose Two Other Players Over Jude Bellingham When Casting His Vote for The Kopa Trophy

This year’s Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, did not vote for Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham for the Kopa Trophy, and he was joined in doing so by Karim Benzema.

Lionel Messi picked a former teammate, Pedri, and Jamal Musiala, over Jude Bellingham for the Kopa Trophy

In the Kopa Trophy ballot, Lionel Messi chose Pedri and Jamal Musiala over Jude Bellingham, but that didn’t stop the Englishman from taking home the trophy in Paris last month.

32 past Ballon d’Or winners cast their votes for the Kopa Trophy, requiring them to select the top three U21 players in international football. Three points are awarded to the first option, two to the second, and just one to the third.

Real Madrid player Bellingham ultimately prevailed with a massive 48 points, scoring 90, compared to nine between Musiala and Pedri. The votes of twelve previous Ballon d’Or winners, however, are now public. Messi, who took home his ninth award at the same ceremony in Paris last week, ignored the 19-year-old in favor of Musiala, who was then chosen by Pedri.

Only Karim Benzema, the winner of the Ballon d’Or from the previous year, followed Messi in his Bellingham snub. The votes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Marco Van Basten, Ronaldinho, Oleg Blokhin, Luka Modric, Andriy Shevchenko, Fabio Cannavaro, Ronaldo Nazario, and Kaka were also made public.

Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy in a landslide vote cast by former Ballon d'Or winners

Prior to Pedri and Bellingham, Benzema, who currently plays for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, targeted Eduardo Camavinga, a former Real colleague. The England international’s spectacular debut at the Santiago Bernabeu surely contributed to his Kopa Trophy victory. Over 13 games in all competitions, the midfield player has 13 goals and three assists.

“This is a fantastic list of players [who have previously won this award],” he remarked. Being in front of some of the greatest players in the world and among the greatest to have ever played the game is an honor. Winning this medal is really significant to me, but team titles are more important to me than individual accolades. I want to continue pushing Real Madrid and England to win trophies for many years.”

But Bellingham ranked Messi above his former Borussia Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland as the deserving winner of the Ballon d’Or. “It’s World Cup year and Lionel Messi had a fantastic World Cup, he deserves to win the Ballon d’Or,”