By By: Sola Omoniyi
Messi in, Ronaldo out as FIFA unveils nominees for Best Player Award
FIFA has unveiled the list of nominees for their “The Best award” , with Man City’s Julian Alvarez the shock choice alongside Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, amongst others.
Messi leads the pack on the 14-man shortlist for the Best FIFA Men’s player award after leading Argentina to World Cup victory last year.
The list was announced on Thursday, with voting opening immediately and running through until February 3 before the winner is announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony.
Messi is the standout name, having scored seven goals in as many games in Qatar to finally win the World Cup. He was also given the Golden Ball after being deemed the best player at the tournament.
However, it is not a foregone conclusion that he will win this award, given that it takes into account performances between August 2021 and December 2022.
This 15-month period includes Messi’s first season at PSG, which was an underwhelming one, with the forward netting just six Ligue 1 goals.
Messi’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe joins him on the shortlist after finishing the World Cup as the Golden Boot winner with eight goals to his name.
Mbappe has also been in fine form at club level, scoring 28 league goals last term, while already notching 13 this time around.
There are also some surprise names in the mix for the prestigious award, with Julian Alvarez making the cut.
Alvarez started 2022 at River Plate before joining Manchester City last summer. After a quiet start in England, the young striker showed exactly what he is capable of during the World Cup, scoring four goals as he played a significant role in Argentina’s triumph.
The youngest player on the list, Jude Bellingham is a midfielder and the only Englishman of the 14 in the running, and has been rewarded after starring at the World Cup for the Three Lions.
The Premier League is represented, with City duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne named, plus Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Real Madrid also have three players in with a chance after winning last season’s Champions League. Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is joined by Vinicius Jr and Luka Modric on the list.
Messi and Mbappe are not the only PSG players, with Neymar and Achraf Hakimi being recognised as well.
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane complete the list.
However, the recent Al-Nassr signing and former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, Christiano Ronaldo, did not feature in the list of FIFA nominees which takes a look back at the best performers from the previous calendar year.
