Moscow
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah are among the nominees for the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award ahead of a ceremony on December 17, the global soccer governing body announced on Wednesday.
FIFA launched its own annual award in 2016, which ran alongside France Football’s Ballon d’Or award. The French governing body canceled this year’s ceremony due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Portugal and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the FIFA award in 2016 and 2017, headlines the nominees along with Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi, the reigning holder of the award.
The other nominees for the men’s award are Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Alcantara and Sadio Mane, Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, and Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.
Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois top the candidates for FIFA’s Best Men’s Goalkeeper of the year.
Other contenders for the award are Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, Paris Saint-Germain’s Keylor Navas, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
German coach Jurgen Klopp, who led Liverpool to their first English Premier League title last season, features among the nominees for top coach of 2020. Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane and Bayern Munich’s Hans-Dieter Flick are also up for the award.
Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa, who led Leeds United’s successful return to the English topflight, is also a nominee for coach of the year, as is Julen Lopetegui, who masterminded Sevilla’s Europa League triumph this past August.
South Korea and Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min and Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez are among the eleven players shortlisted to win FIFA’s Puskas Award for best goal of the year.
Public voting for the awards is scheduled to close at 22:59 GMT on December 9, and the governing body will release the three finalists for each award two days later.—AFP
