Manchester City's Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez celebrates with Phil Foden after scoring against Chelsea in the FA Cup - January 2023. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Thiago Silva, a Brazilian international and defender for Chelsea, has called the 2022 FIFA Awards a “joke” in response to Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez’s placement.
The 23-year-old Alvarez, who switched from River Plate to Man City last summer, was crucial to Argentina’s incredible World Cup triumph in Qatar.
As his international colleague Lionel Messi was awarded the title of “finest player in the world, the striker was ranked seventh on the list of the Greatest FIFA Men’s Players for 2022.
He won the race ahead of players like Jude Bellingham, Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius Junior, Kevin de Bruyne, and Neymar.
Alvarez has started just six of Pep Guardiola’s team’s 25 Premier League games so far this season, making the ranking somewhat debatable. He is frequently listed on the bench of substitutes.
Before moving to the Etihad, he had scored 11 goals in 17 league games for River Plate earlier in the year. He also played five of Argentina’s seven World Cup games and contributed four goals, including two in the semi-final win over Croatia.
A commentator posted on Instagram:
“Voted seventh best in the world, is always on the bench for Man City, is not an absolute starter of his national team, and was at River Plate most of the time of the period! Spectacular! Am I clear?”
Chelsea defender Silva replied in agreement:
“It is a joke.”
Alvarez’s ranking may have increased due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The award is, however, voted by contemporaries – players, coaches, and captains across the globe. We can’t really disagree a lot with what they have to say.
Many have naturally questioned the rankings, especially for 2022 FIFA The Best Men’s Player of the Award. Chelsea, meanwhile, had no representatives at a meaningful level here. One could make a case for the inclusion of someone like Silva, who has been a rock for us at the back over the past year and a half.
It was, instead, our women’s team that made us proud. Sam Kerr (4th) and Jessie Fleming (14th) featured in the Women’s Player of the Year list. Ann-Katring Berger was third on the Goalkeeper of the Year list while coach Emma Hayes finished fourth in the Women’s Manager of the Year 2022 list.
Kerr also featured in the FIFA Women’s FIFPRO XI.
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