Lionel Messi didn't want Jude Bellingham to win award as intriguing details come to light
Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy award with Real Madrid star dazzling for club and country
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Lionel Messi reportedly voted for two players over Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham for the recent Kopa Trophy award.
The England international took home the prize earlier this week, having dazzled for club and country over the past 12 months.
Bellingham has been nothing short of sensational for Madrid this season, scoring 13 goals from as many matches following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund back in the summer.
But while he's sparkled on the pitch, Messi voted for two other players ahead of the youngster for the Kopa Trophy.
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time earlier this week
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All Football say Messi instead opted to vote for Jamal Musiala and Pedri, with Bellingham his third pick.
Musiala has established himself as one of the best young players in world football at Bayern Munich.
And Pedri has developed into Andre Iniesta's heir at Barcelona.
Messi isn't the only footballing figure to have his votes revealed to the world.
Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Marco Van Basten, Ronaldinho, Oleg Blokhin, Luka Modric, Andriy Shevchenko, Karim Benzema, Fabio Cannavaro, Ronaldo and Kaka also participated.
And all of those footballers past and present had Bellingham at the top of their votes.
Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time at the ceremony in France.
The Argentine beat Erling Haaland to the prize, despite the Norway international propelling Manchester City to the treble last term.
Kylian Mbappe finished third in the votes, having propelled France to the World Cup final in Qatar last year.
Meanwhile, speaking after winning the Kopa Trophy, Bellingham admitted he didn't like football as a child growing up.
"At the beginning I didn't like football at all," he said.
"The truth is that it's crazy to say today that if someone took this away from me I would go crazy.
"When I was a kid I used to go to training sessions and I used to pick the grass, the flowers, I used to make necklaces with the daisies to give them to my mother who was outside the field watching me.
"It was like that, really, and the best part of this whole story is that it's probably the reason why I ended up getting involved in soccer in the end.
"My dad would take me to practice and tell me if you want to play tag, play catch or go pick flowers.
"My parents never forced me to do anything in that sense as long as I behaved well and helped others.
"I guess the world to me was the playground and they still remind me of that today."
And Bellingham also says he's dreaming of winning trophies with Real Madrid and England in the future.
"In five years with Madrid I hope to have won five Champions League titles, a European Championship and hopefully a World Cup," he said.
"It's not that, it's true that I'm someone who wants to be as optimistic as possible and I don't think about a game I can lose.
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Lionel Messi voted for Pedri and Jamal Musiala ahead of England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham
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"You have to face every competition to win it because otherwise, what is the point?
"It is very complicated to give an exact number of titles, how many here and there, I prefer to focus on playing well and if in five years my family is healthy and happy is the most important thing for me.
"I have to keep playing as I am doing so far because I am convinced that I can do great things."