Legendary goalkeeper, Iker Casillas has taken a swipe at his former LaLiga rival Lionel Messi after the Argentine won FIFA’s The Best award, claiming organisers were ‘not doing things fairly’.
Messi, who won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time at the end of last year, claimed the new price after beating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award last night.
Many believe that Erling Haaland – who finished level on points with Messi before losing out on a technicality or PSG star Kylian Mbappe should have been named winner ahead of Messi, who has spent the last six months playing in the MLS with Inter Miami.
Haaland, who scored 48 points but earned fewer captain votes than Messi, had staked a solid claim to take home the prize after scoring 52 goals in 53 games last season, an incredible record in front of goal that helped Man City to the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas has expressed his dissatisfaction, claiming that the process was not fair and suggesting a new name should be given to the award.
Writing on X, Casillas said: ‘You create some nice prizes and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. ‘The Smile’ more like. Anyway, good night!’