Chelsea ace Thiago Silva slams 'joke' FIFA rankings with sly dig at Man City forward

Chelsea defender Thiago Silva criticised the 2022 Best FIFA awards and described it as a "joke" in a direct response to the ranking of Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez.

The Argentine striker signed for the Blues from River Plate last summer and has impressed since arriving at the Etihad Stadium - registering 10 goals and three assists in all competitions. Alvarez also played a key part in Argentina World Cup triumph in Qatar, starting in five of their seven matches and scoring four goals, including two in the semi-final victory over Croatia.

Alvarez was ranked seventh in the 2022 Best FIFA Men's Player list as his international teammate Lionel Messi was crowned the winner at the recent awards ceremony. The 23-year-old's position saw him finish above the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Robert Lewandowski.

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The City ace, who has started six of the Blues' Premier League matches this term, scored 11 goals in 17 league appearances for River Plate earlier in the year before his switch to the Etihad. Evidently, his strong performances for Argentina in Qatar influenced his ranking in the standings, but there was some opposition to it.

A Brazilian commentator questioned the decision to rank Alvarez so highly on the list, with Chelsea defender Silva replying in agreement, as he appeared to suggest that he disagreed with the Blues forward's seventh-placed finish.

The commentator posted on Instagram, alongside a photo of Alvarez, saying: "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!