On Thursday, January 12th, FIFA released the list of players in contention for the prestigious FIFA Best Football Awards, with seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi leading the pack. The Argentinian superstar, who finally earned a World Cup winners' medal last month, is joined by his Paris Saint-Germain teammates Kylian Mbappe of France and Neymar Jr. of Brazil. Additionally, PSG's right-back Achraf Hakimi is also in the running, alongside 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and nine other elite players. Unfortunately, Cristiano Ronaldo was not included in the list.
The 37-year-old former Manchester United player, who recently signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, failed to make the 14-man shortlist after a largely forgettable campaign in Qatar. During Portugal's two knockout matches, he was relegated to the bench and only managed to score one goal.
The Portuguese superstar, who has twice won the prestigious FIFA The Best award in 2016 and 2017, unfortunately did not make the cut this year. However, his long-time rival Lionel Messi has been included in the list and is the favorite to take home the prize.
The other players shortlisted for the Best Men's Player Award are Messi's Argentine teammate Julian Alvarez, who scored four times in Qatar; England's Jude Bellingham; Belgium and Manchester City's attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne; Erling Haland, Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah, and Vinicius Jr., along with the four previously mentioned.
Sarina Wiegman, who guided England to last year's European Championship title, is joined on The Best FIFA Women's Coach shortlist by Chelsea's Emma Hayes and Germany manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.
Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City's Pep Guardiola are nominated for the men's award, alongside Argentina's Scaloni, France's Didier Deschamps, and Morocco's Walid Regragui. These esteemed coaches have all achieved remarkable success in their respective fields, and it is a testament to their hard work and dedication that they have been recognized for their efforts.
As for the Puskas Award, which recognizes the best goal of the year, Brazilian striker Richarlison's stunning strike against Serbia in the FIFA World Cup opener for the Selecao and Kylian Mbappé's dramatic late equalizer against Argentina in the final are among the twelve-goal shortlist.
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