Fresh from their brilliant performances at the World Cup, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe has been named on the shortlist for the annual Best FIFA Men’s Player, with Cristiano Ronaldo left off for the first time, the world football’s governing body announced on Thursday.
The nominations for FIFA’s Best awards feature heavily players from Argentina following their World Cup triumph, with forward Julian Alvarez, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and coach Lionel Scaloni receiving nominations in their categories, in addition to Messi.
Ronaldo, released by Manchester United and benched by Portugal during the World Cup, won the FIFA award the first two times it was handed out — in 2016 and 2017 — and was among the three finalists the following three years. However, this was the first time he was not even selected as a contender by a FIFA-appointed expert panel.
The award was rebranded in 2016 following a six-year period in which the former FIFA World Player of the Year Award merged with the annual Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo finished seventh in the voting last year when Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona won for the second time ahead of Messi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. The 37-year-old Portuguese star joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr last month, seemingly marking the end of his European club career.
Aside from Messi and his Paris St Germain teammate Mbappe, Lewandowski, Salah, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, and PSG’s Neymar are among the 14 players shortlisted for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
The other players nominated are Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne, Achraf Hakimi, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award, is also on the shortlist.
Barcelona and Arsenal dominate the women’s award with three players, including Alexia Putellas, Keira Walsh, and Aitana Bonmati, for the Spanish champions. At the same time, the English side is represented by Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead.
Putellas makes it into the shortlist despite missing much last year due to a knee ligament injury.
Chelsea duo Sam Kerr, Jessie Fleming, Olympique Lyonnais’ Ada Hegerberg, and Wendie Renard also cut.
Sarina Wiegman, who led 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 coach Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola are nominated for the men’s award, along with Argentina’s Scaloni, France boss Didier Deschamps and Morocco manager Walid Regragui.
Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, and Aston Villa’s Martinez are among the nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award.
FIFA also announced an 11-player shortlist for this year’s Puskas Award for the “most beautiful” goal of the year, with Mbappe’s spectacular volley against Argentina in the World Cup final among the nominees.
The FIFA Puskas Award shortlist (all goals 2022):
Mario Balotelli (ITA): Adana Demirspor v Goztepe [Super Lig] (May 22)
Amandine Henry (FRA): FC Barcelona v Olympique Lyonnais [UEFA Women's Champions League] (May 21)
Theo Hernandez (FRA): AC Milan v Atalanta [Serie A] (May 15)
Alou Kuol (AUS): Iraq U23 v Australia U23 [AFC U23 Asian Cup] (June 4)
Kylian Mbappe (FRA): Argentina v France [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (December 18)
Francisco Gonzalez Metilli (ARG): Club Atletico Central Cordoba v Club Atletico Rosario Central [Primera Division] (Aug. 1)
Marcin Oleksy (POL): Warta Poznan v Stal Rzeszow (November 6)
Salma Paralluelo (ESP): FC Barcelona v Villarreal CF [Liga F] (April 2)
Dimitri Payet (FRA): Olympique de Marseille v PAOK Thessaloniki FC [UEFA Europa Conference League] (April 7)
Richarlison (BRA): Brazil v Serbia [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (Nov. 24)
Alessia Russo (ENG): England v Sweden [UEFA Women’s EURO 2022] (July 26)
Supporters from Argentina and Japan are among the three nominees for the fan award.
FIFA cited Argentina fans’ enthusiasm in Qatar and the passion shown when welcoming the winning team at home and lauded Japanese fans for their World Cup tradition of staying back after games to clean the stadium.
Voting is done by national team captains and coaches worldwide along with selected journalists, and there is an online vote by fans that runs through Feb. 3.
The winners are announced at a Feb. 27 ceremony in Paris.
