Chelsea defender and Brazil international Thiago Silva has criticised the 2022 Best FIFA awards as a "joke" in a direct response to the ranking of Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.
Alvarez, 23, joined Man City from River Plate last summer and played a key part in Argentina's remarkable World Cup success in Qatar this winter.
The striker was ranked seventh in the 2022 Best FIFA Men's Player list as his international teammate Lionel Messi was named the greatest player in the world. This saw him finish above the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Robert Lewandowski, Jude Bellingham and Mohamed Salah.
The ranking may have proved somewhat controversial as Alvarez has started only six Premier League matches from a possible 25 for Pep Guardiola's side this campaign, regularly being named on the substitute's bench.
He had scored 11 goals in 17 league appearances for River Plate earlier in the year before his switch to the Etihad and started five of Argentina's seven World Cup matches – scoring four goals including two in the semi-final victory over Croatia.
Alvarez's ranking reflected the heavy significance of World Cup success in the voting process, massively outweighing other football played across the year. The striker has a highly promising club career but is having to make do with a squad role for City so far.
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A Brazilian commentator questioned the decision to rank Alvarez so highly on the list, with Chelsea defender Silva replying in agreement, as he appeared to suggest that it devalued the voting process.
The commentator posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of Alvarez playing for City: "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???"
Veteran defender Silva replied in agreement: "It is a joke."
Messi won the award with 52 points, which was eight points clear of his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe.
Karim Benzema – who missed the World Cup through injury but starred in Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League success – finished third on 34 points.
Luka Modric, Erling Haaland and Sadio Mane were next up in the rankings, followed by Alvarez's somewhat surprising inclusion. Achraf Hakimi, Neymar and Kevin de Bruyne completed the top ten.
