FIFA's Best Player Awards: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland Lead Nominees

FIFA's Best Player Awards: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland Lead Nominees

FIFA's Best Player Awards: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland Lead Nominees(Image-Getty)

 The prestigious The Best FIFA Men's Player Award has unveiled its shortlist, featuring three prominent football talents: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland. In the women's category, Spain's Aitana Bonmati earns a nomination following her Golden Ball victory at the World Cup.

Remarkably, half of the twelve nominees in the men's category hail from Manchester City's triumphant 2022-23 squad, which secured an impressive treble. Additionally, City's renowned Spanish manager, Pep Guardiola, is among the nominees for the Best Men's Coach accolade.

Spain's victorious World Cup campaign is well-represented, with four of their players earning nominations among the sixteen contenders for the women's award. The World Cup runners-up, England, have also made their presence felt with four players on the shortlist. Sarina Wiegman, who coached the England team, is in the running for the women's coaching award, while Australia has three players in contention.

Notably, the current holders of the top player awards are World Cup champions: Lionel Messi from Argentina and Spain's Alexia Putellas.

The selection of nominees was carried out by a panel of soccer experts, featuring esteemed retired players such as Mia Hamm and Didier Drogba.

Voting for the eighth edition of these annual awards officially commenced on Thursday and will remain open until mid-October, with participants including national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans all contributing to the decision-making process.