Wayne Rooney picked Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller in front of former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting for the Ballon d'Or.
As England skipper, Rooney was asked to pick his top three players of 2015 along with other international captains and coaches, plus a media representative from each country.
Barcelona star Messi was the eventual winner, beating Ronaldo to what would have been his third consecutive title, but there were 30 international skippers who didn't include the Argentine in their top three.
Among them were Crystal Palace star and Australia captain Mile Jedinak, Leicester defender and Austria skipper Christian Fuchs and Manchester United and Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Poland captain and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski omitted Messi, as did Celtic's Scott Brown, who skippers Scotland and Celtic, and Atletico Madrid centre-half Diego Godin, who is Uruguay's captain.
Interestingly, Messi's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo didn't put the Barcelona man in his top three, instead opting for Real Madrid teammates Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez, who also didn't pick Messi, and Gareth Bale.
Did someone say tactical voting?
Messi also went for club teammates - voting for Luis Suarez, Neymar, who came third in the overall voting, and Andres Iniesta.
30 international captains who didn't vote for Messi
Mile Jedinak - Australia
Christian Fuchs - Austria
Joel Mogorosi - Botswana
Stephane Mbia Etoundi - Cameroon
James Rodriguez - Colombia
Baez Odalis - Dominican Republic
Vanche Shikov - Macedonia
Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany
Humberto Ruiz Carlos - Guatemala
Amer Shafei - Jordan
Talant Samsaliev - Kyrgyzstan
Teah Dennis - Liberia
Safiq Rahim - Malaysia
Michael Mifsud - Malta
Oumar N'Diaye - Mauritania
Anthony Griffith - Montserrat
Mehdi El Moutaqui - Morocco
Yan Aung Kyaw - Myanmar
Jean Brice Wadriako - New Caledonia
Chris Wood - New Zealand
Juan Barrera - Nicaragua
Per Ciljan Skjelbred - Norway
Bossio Claudio Pizarro - Peru
Robert Lewandowski - Poland
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal
Scott Brown - Scotland
Saif Eldin Idriss - Sudan
Ali Khaseif Alhosani - United Arab Emirates
Diego Godín - Uruguay
Fenedy Masauvakalo - Vanuatu
Selected captains' votes
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta
Mile Jedinak (Australia) - Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Neymar
Vincent Kompany (Belgium) - Hazard, De Bruyne, Messi
Neymar (Brazil) - Messi, Suarez, Rakitic
James Rodriguez (Colombia) - Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale
Petr Cech (Czech Republic) - Messi, Lewandowski, Hazard
Wayne Rooney (England) - Messi, Muller, Ronaldo
Hugo Lloris (France) - Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) - Neuer, Muller, Neymar
Arjen Robben (Netherlands) - Messi, Neymar, Suarez
Steven Davis (Northern Ireland) - Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar
Robbie Keane (Ireland) - Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar
Scott Brown (Scotland) - Lewandowsi, Ronaldo, Muller
Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia) - Messi, Hazard, Neymar
Martin Skrtel (Slovakia) - Ronaldo, Suarez, Messi
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) - Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Michael Bradley (USA) - Messi, Ronaldo, Suarez