Revealed: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi Ballon d'Or votes

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

 

 

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