Lionel Messi is likely to win the Men’s FIFA Best award for a second time. This comes after winning the recently held World Cup with the Argentina national team last year in Qatar.
Messi ticked off one of the final things missing from his CV.
In inspiring his country to victory in Qatar, he boosted his claims to be the greatest to have played the game.
It appeared to end the debate over who is the superior of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The latter still has something over Messi, as the Portuguese has won FIFA’s Best award on two occasions to one for the Argentina great.
Messi seems certain to draw level after being named on the 14-man shortlist.
His Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe may have something to say after also featuring on the shortlist, but Messi appears a standout performer.
There is one England international nominated, with Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund rewarded for his efforts for club and country.
There are four nominees from the Premier League: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez and Kevin De Bruyne (all Manchester City) and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool – albeit Sadio Mane’s form for the Reds before his summer move to Bayern Munich earned him a spot.
The others are Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern Munich / Barcelona), Luka Modric (Croatia / Real Madrid), Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain) and Vinícius Junior (Brazil / Real Madrid).
