Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has labelled FIFA's rankings for The Best players in 2022 a 'joke' after Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez finished in seventh place. The Brazil international posted a harsh response to Alvarez's ranking under a social media post from a Brazilian commentator.
Silva is set for a number of weeks on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in the 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. The 38-year-old has arguably been one of the best defenders in the Premier League since his arrival at Stamford Bridge and his absence will be a huge blow for Graham Potter - with big games against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund on the horizon.
The commentator questioned the decision to rank the City star so highly on the list after he has started only six Premier League matches from a possible 25 for Pep Guardiola's side this campaign. Alvarez joined Man City from River Plate last summer and played a key part in Argentina's World Cup success in Qatar in December.
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The striker was ranked in the top ten of the 2022 Best FIFA Men's Player list as his international teammate Lionel Messi was named the best player in the world. Alvarez finished above the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Robert Lewandowski, Jude Bellingham and Mohamed Salah.
The 23-year-old had scored 11 goals in 17 league appearances for River Plate earlier in the year before his switch to the Etihad Stadium 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, despite only playing a squad role for City so far.
Silva commented under a Brazilian commentator's Instagram post questioning Alvarez's ranking, alongside a photo of the Argentine striker playing for City. The caption read: "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???"
The Blues' veteran defender seemed to agree as he posted a comment which read: "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 finished third on 34 points ahead of Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric in fourth, with Erling Haaland and Sadio Mane next up in the rankings, followed by Alvarez's somewhat surprising inclusion. Achraf Hakimi, Neymar and Kevin De Bruyne completed the top ten.
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