Benschmar, who led Real Madrid to the UEFA Europa League and La Liga double last season, lost out to Lionel Messi for the World Footballer of the Year trophy. While the result was expected by many, many fans turned their ire on Austria's national team captain Alaba, accusing him of voting for Messi instead of Benschmar and calling him a "traitor," forcing Alaba to speak out publicly.
Alaba, who is the Austrian captain, voted for Messi, Binschmar and Kylian Mbappe in the top three. Real Madrid fans were extremely upset that Binschmar was only in second place and attacked him on social media with messages such as, "Get rid of Alaba," "Rebel," and even racialized him with a monkey motif. In the face of public anger, Alaba also responded on social media platforms.
In his response, Alaba said, "Regarding the vote for Mr. World Footballer, this vote for our Austrian team was not decided by me personally, but by all the players of the team together. The ranking was voted for by all our players together. I am very appreciative of Binschmar's performance, which is well known, especially by Binschmar himself."
