Sudan Coach, Nicaragua Captain Say 'The Best' Votes Changed to Lionel Messi

Some of the voters for the FIFA Best Men's Player award have alleged their initial picks for the prize do not match the selections published after Lionel Messi's success.

Messi beat Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo to the award on Monday. After the official confirmation of the winner, FIFA released the full voting data, with national-team coaches and captains getting a say, as well as selected media members from countries around the world.

Sudan coach Zdravko Logarusic, though, has said his selection was changed, per Sheikh Tophic Sienu:

"I took a photo of the voting application after I signed it with the Sudan Football Association and I don’t know what happened afterwards," Logarusic said, per Nairobi News.

Per Football Italia, despite the claims of their manager, the Sudan Football Association have said the photo provided by Logarusic is a photoshop and his initial vote matches FIFA's record.

Logarusic said he voted for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Kylian Mbappe, while FIFA's official record had his picks down as Messi, Van Dijk and Mane.

In addition, Nicaragua captain Juan Barrera said on social media that "any information on my vote for #TheBest2019 was falsified, thank you" (h/t Football Italia):

Per Football Italia, Barrera's club, Real Esteli, released a statement saying the player "expressed his concern because his name was used in a situation where he had no participation" and "he did not exercise any vote and the information presented does not correspond to his criteria."

FIFA provided a breakdown of the share of the overall vote, with Messi a clear winner ahead of Van Dijk and Ronaldo, who were in second and third respectively:

The complaints from Logarusic and Barrera come after the Egyptian Football Association's weren't taken into account by FIFA. There is no reference in the vote breakdown of picks from the team captain, nor the team manager.

Per AfricaNews.en, the EFA said it "officially sent Egypt's vote to FIFA on August 15, four days before the deadline" and "asks Fifa why the Egyptian vote was not accepted." It said it would open an "investigation" into the omission.

Messi enjoyed an excellent 2018-19 season, scoring 36 goals and notching 13 assists in La Liga as Barcelona romped to the title.

Van Dijk, Salah and Mane were all key parts of Liverpool's UEFA Champions League win, while Ronaldo won Serie A in his debut season for Juventus.