Messi vs Mbappe as FIFA announce ‘The Best’ nominees

• FIFA has announced the nominees for ‘The Best’ award for the year 2022
• Messi and Mbappe will be at the forefront of competing once again after being selected as nominees
• The PSG duo have been nominated in The Best FIFA Men’s player category

After being included on the 14-person list of nominations on Thursday, it comes as no surprise that Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are among the front-runners for The Best FIFA Men’s Player title.

On February 27, FIFA will hold its annual awards presentation to honour the sport’s top performers from 2022 in a number of categories, with the Best FIFA Men’s Player award serving as the main event.

After leading Argentina to a World Cup victory, Messi, who won the 2019 award and finished second to Robert Lewandowski for the 2021 honour, will be the clear favourite.

The Albiceleste won the tournament for the first time since 1986, and Messi was a key factor when Argentina defeated France on penalties following a 3-3 draw with France last month.

Messi won the Golden Ball by scoring five goals and assisting on another three; he also came close to winning the Golden Boot.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi won the Golden ball at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and has been nominated in the best player category at The Best awards. | PHOTO: CNBC |

Naturally, his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe, who scored three goals against Argentina in the thrilling final to win the latter award, will be Messi’s biggest competition.

Erling Haaland of Manchester City would have believed he could stake a claim following a stunning start to life in the Premier League had it not been a World Cup year.

Awarded the Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema is one of the nominees and might be hoping for a top-three finish after leading Real Madrid to another Champions League title, but his absence from the World Cup could hurt his chances.

Although Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni is on the five-person shortlist, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is vying for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award.

France and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe won the Golden boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and has been nominated in the best men’s player category at ‘The Best’ award. | PHOTO: FIFA |

Argentina are also represented in The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper category by Emiliano Martinez among the five nominees.

England, the champions of Euro 2022, has several nominees for the women’s awards.

The players’ award will likely go to Beth Mead, Keira Walsh, or Leah Williamson; the coaches’ award will likely go to Sarina Wiegman; and the best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award will likely go to Mary Earps.

International coaches, captains, journalists, and voters will choose the champions in the various categories.

Voting closes on February 3, and FIFA will announce three finalists from each section thereafter.

NOMINATIONS

The Best FIFA Men’s Player

Julian Alvarez (Argentina/River Plate/Manchester City)
Jude Bellingham (England/Borussia Dortmund)
Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Norway/ Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich/Barcelona)
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool/Bayern Munich)
Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid)
Neymar (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Vinicius Junior (Brazil/Real Madrid)

The Best FIFA Men’s Coach

Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid)
Didier Deschamps (France/French National Team)
Pep Guardiola (Spain/Manchester City)
Walid Regragui (Morocco/Wydad AC/Moroccan National Team)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina/Argentinian National Team)

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper

Alisson Becker (Brazil/Liverpool)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco/Sevilla)
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium/Real Madrid)
Ederson (Brazil/Manchester City)
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina/Aston Villa)

The Best FIFA Women’s Player: 

Aitana Bonmatí (Spain/Barcelona)
Debinha (Brazil/North Carolina Courage)
Jessie Fleming (Canada/Chelsea)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon)
Sam Kerr (Australia/Chelsea)
Beth Mead (England/Arsenal)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal)
Alex Morgan (United States/Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave)
Lena Oberdorf (Germany/Wolfsburg)
Alexandra Popp (Germany/Wolfsburg)
Alexia Putellas (Spain/Barcelona)
Wendie Renard (France/Lyon)
Keira Walsh (England/Manchester City/Barcelona)
Leah Williamson (England/Arsenal)

The Best FIFA Women’s Coach

Sonia Bompastor (France/Lyon)
Emma Hayes (England/Chelsea)
Bev Priestman (England/Canadian National Team)
Pia Sundhage (Sweden/Brazilian National Team)
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany/German National Team)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / English National Team)

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper

Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany/Chelsea Women)
Mary Earps (England/Manchester United)
Christiane Endler (Chile/Lyon)
Merle Frohms (Germany/Eintracht Frankfurt /Wolfsburg)
Alyssa Naeher (United States/Chicago Red Stars)
Sandra Panos Garca-Villamil (Spain/Barcelona)