The 10 players who will compete for FIFA’s best player award have been confirmed.
This is the list.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Luka Modric (Croatia)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
OFFICIAL | The nominees for #TheBest FIFA Men’s Player 2018:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kevin De Bruyne
Antoine Griezmann
Eden Hazard
Harry Kane
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Mohamed Salah
Raphael VaraneFor the period 3 July 2017-15 July 2018 pic.twitter.com/bqt8tDWY8d
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 24, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo is the main favourite to win the award, but a case can be made for any of the 10 nominees.
His Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric shares Ronaldo’s titles, plus he won the Golden Ball as 2018 World Cup’s best player, leading Croatia to the final.
Raphael Varane is the only player on the list with a Champions League title and a World Cup trophy.
Antoine Griezmann had an amazing season as well, winning the Europa League with Atletico Madrid and following it up with a World Cup title.
Kevin De Bruyne carried Manchester City to the Premier League title and helped carry Belgium to a third-place finish in the World Cup.
Lionel Messi did the double with Barcelona and was also Europe’s best goalscorer.
Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane all had tremendous seasons as well.
Neymar, who missed a large part of the season, is a notable absentee from the list.
Guardiola and Zidane lead the list for FIFA Coach of the Year
FIFA also published the 11 candidates for Coach of the Year.
Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus)
Stanislav Cherchesov (Russia)
Zlatko Dalic (Croatia)
Didier Deschamps (France)
Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Roberto Martinez (Belgium)
Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
Gareth Southgate (England)
Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona)
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
The list is divided in half with five national team coaches and six club managers.
Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane spearhead the list of favourites. The Spaniard guided Manchester City to the best season by a Premier League team ever, while the Frenchman resurrected Real Madrid in the second half, as the team won its third consecutive Champions League crown.
The winners will be announced during the FIFA Best Football Awards gala on September 24, in London.
