Bastian Schweinsteiger, James Rodriguez and Mile Jedinak among 30 international captains who didn't have Lionel Messi in top three for Ballon d'Or

 

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Colombia skipper James Rodriguez were among 30 players who decided against voting for Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or.

The Barcelona forward beat Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Neymar to the coveted award at a ceremony in Zurich on Monday after picking up an impressive 41.33 per cent of the votes.

But despite scoring 52 goals for club and country last year, Messi didn't do enough to make it into the top three selections of a host of internationals.

Players are required to vote for three of their peers, with their first choice awarded five points, their second choice three points and third choice a single point.

It was no surprise that Portugal talisman Ronaldo didn't opt for his rival, instead choosing club team-mates Karim Benzema, Rodriguez and Gareth Bale in that order.

Rodriguez also stuck with Los Blancos, picking Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale, while Liberia skipper Teah Dennis chose Real trio Ronaldo, Benzema and Toni Kroos.

Crystal Palace and Australia midfielder Mile Jedinak thought Ronaldo, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Neymar had all been better than Messi, while New Zealand captain Chris Wood chose Poland star Lewandowski along with Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.