38-year-old striker Cristiano Ronaldo is not included in the Top 10 best players of 2023 according to IFFHS voting, even though he scores the most goals.

“Erling Haaland was chosen as the best player, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). Bernardo Silva ranked eighth and is the only Portuguese player in the Top 10”, newspaper A Bola posted on Instagram on December 29.

Ronaldo went to the newspaper article and commented on three emojis laughing to tears, and a monkey covering his eyes with his hands, not saying a word. His comment received more than 5,000 likes in just four hours, double the original article in the newspaper.

Cristiano Ronaldo commented under A Bola’s post on December 29, 2023. Photo: Instagram

IFFHS’s list has Kylian Mbappe ranked second, Lionel Messi third, then Rodri, Jude Bellingham, Kevin de Bruyne, Harry Kane, Silva, Vinicius Junior and Lautaro Martinez.

Ronaldo scored 53 goals and assisted 15 times in 58 matches in 2023 for Al Nassr and Portugal. He helped Al Nassr win the Arab Club Champions Cup, and scored the most goals to help the team qualify for Euro 2024. He scored the most goals of the year, more than other stars like Kane, Mbappe or Haaland. However, most of Ronaldo’s goals are scored in the Saudi Pro League, the 36th strongest league in the world according to Opta .

Messi scored 28 goals and assisted 12 times in 44 matches this year, including eight goals and one assist in eight matches with Argentina. The 36-year-old superstar scored nine goals and assisted six times in 22 matches for PSG, and 11 goals and five assists in 14 matches with Inter Miami. The American Professional Soccer League (MLS) ranks 29th in the world in terms of strength, according to the August 2023 team index.

Witnessing Ronaldo ‘s reaction , A Bola commented and asked: “Do you think he deserves to be on this list?”. The highlight comment in this article belongs to account i_am_tiago , when this person wrote: “Messi ranked third? Can someone explain to me the criteria for this award?” Account taizeye21 responded: “Ronaldo is almost 40 years old but is he complaining about the IFFHS award?”.

IFFHS was founded in 1984 in Germany, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Their awards are not as popular as the Golden Ball, FIFA The Best or UEFA Best Player. The IFFHS award has only been awarded seven times, from 1988-1990 and 2020-2023. Marco van Basten and Robert Lewandowski lead the way with two wins, while Ronaldo has never been in the Top 3. The award is scored and voted on by IFFHS experts based on achievements in the calendar year.