Ballon d'Or 2018 Voting Shows Some Chose Neymar and Karim Benzema in Top Spot

France Football has released the voting breakdown from each country for the 2018 Ballon d'Or, with some journalists revealed to have chosen the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema or Thibaut Courtois for top spot. 

Sport Witness relayed the voting breakdown after Luka Modric claimed the award, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo in second, while Lionel Messi came fifth:

Saint Kitts and Nevis, Kyrgyzstan and Central African Republic have raised some eyebrows with their votes, while Sport Witness also focused on Uruguay's voting:

Neymar, the player who—until Modric this year—looked most likely to break Messi and Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or hold in recent years, came 12th overall.

OptaJean provided some insight:

Of course, given his 2017-18 domestic season ended in February with a fractured metatarsal, the Brazilian was always going to be up against it for the calendar-year award.

On top of that, despite returning to fitness in time for the FIFA World Cup, he failed to light up the tournament in Russia, and his showing there will be remembered more for his histrionics than his performances.

That Benzema could be voted for in top spot is even more bizarre, despite him helping Real Madrid win their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title with two semi-final goals and another in the final.

The Frenchman was not even involved at the World Cup and has scored just 17 times in 2018.

Nevertheless, thanks in part to the Central African Republic's voting, he finished ahead of a number of players who arguably had a better year:

As for Courtois, despite claiming other individual awards this year, Bleacher Report's Alex McGovern could not believe he ranked at 14th overall:

While he may have helped Belgium finish third in Russia, his domestic form this year hasn't been overly inspiring.

Although it's unfair to solely judge a goalkeeper on the number of goals he has let in—given the defence in front of him is equally important in that regard—Courtois' record in 2018 does not make for great reading.

The 26-year-old shipped 24 goals in 18 games for Chelsea before his departure in the summer, and he has conceded 18 in his 14 appearances for Real Madrid.

It's somewhat refreshing that a goalkeeper might be chosen ahead of an attacker, as—with the exception of Modric this year—the award is largely dominated by goalscorers, but there was little case for Courtois being worthy of it.