Amr Nageeb Fahmy, beIN Sports journalist and Egypt’s official representative in the Ballon d’Or voting committee, has detailed the reasons behind omitting Lionel Messi from his selection list, explaining that his decision was based on his assessment of the Argentina captain’s conduct.
Fahmy published his official voter choices on his X (formerly Twitter) account, emphasizing that the voting process retains its human element and allows for varying perspectives among participating journalists from different nations.
Fahmy stated: “The issue of excluding Messi from my ballot is linked to the third criterion established by France Football, which is Fair Play.”
He added: “In my view, Messi, as the captain of the Argentina national team, never intervened to curb the aggressive on-field behavior displayed by some of his teammates, particularly Enzo [Fernández] and [Leandro] Paredes; unfortunately, he even went along with it during incidents like the one involving Cucurella in the final.”
He continued: “In the end, this is a personal opinion that could be right or wrong,” framing his explanation as an individual interpretation of the award’s guidelines rather than a disciplinary measure from the organizing body.
He concluded: “If the matter were purely self-evident and followed set expectations, there would be no need for a human voting committee, and statistics alone would settle everything.”
Kylian Mbappé topped Fahmy’s ballot, followed by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in second place, Lamine Yamal in third, Harry Kane fourth, and Vitinha fifth, according to the graphic shared on his account.
Declan Rice was placed sixth, followed by Jude Bellingham in seventh, Rodri eighth, Pau Cubarsí ninth, and Fabián Ruiz tenth—meaning Egypt’s representative awarded no points to Messi within his top-ten selections.
France Football regulations specify three criteria in order of importance: individual performance and decisive character, team performance and trophies, and finally class and fair play. Each voter selects ten players from a 30-candidate shortlist, meaning Messi’s omission from Fahmy’s ballot applies strictly to his individual vote rather than a disqualification from the overall award.
