Super Eagles head Augustine Eguavoen has attracted the unwanted reaction of football fans after his votes for FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year emerged.

FIFA The Beat Award is voted for by coaches and captains of national teams, football fans and journalists and was introduced in 2016 when it was separated from the Ballon d'Or.

As noted by FIFA, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was named the Player of the Year after accumulating the most votes, beating Manchester City star Rodri, who won the Ballon d'Or.

Vini Jr is #TheBest FIFA Men's Player 2024! 🏆

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2024

Fans slam Eguavoen for his votes

FIFA published a document detailing how the captain and coaches of national teams voted, and Super Eagles head coach Eguavoen’s votes caught the fans’ attention.

Eguavoen voted for Lionel Messi in number one, Vinicius Jr in number two, and Rodri in number three. It was his number one vote for Lionel Messi that attracted criticism.

@Kundoni177 wrote:

“It seems we the fans know more about the game more than the so called "football people". Pathetic”

@BwoyGud wrote:

“People don’t understand what we mean by “year under review” cos what’s Messi doing there??”

@Joeychel wrote:

“Voting Lionel Messi in 2024 is crazy.”

@kobinabafu4 wrote:

“Some people will vote for Messi even if another player scores 100 goals, 95 of them from the halfway line. That's why there'll always be question marks about voting-based awards.”

Messi’s nomination also raised questions from the fans, particularly after a quiet Copa America, even though he was impactful for MLS club Inter Miami.

He was nominated ahead of Lautaro Martinez, who had a great year for Argentina and Inter Miami.

Eguavoen's time as Super Eagles interim head coach is nearing its end, with rumours linking Bruno Labbadia to the job again, having previously walked away from the offer.