The 11 candidates for the Best FIFA Men's Player award have been revealed, with Robert Lewandowski unsurprisingly leading the nominees list. The Polish goalscoring machine is in the race to lift the coveted prize after enjoying an astonishing 2019/20 campaign for Bayern Munich, leading the German giants to a historic treble.
These players were shortlisted by a panel of experts, with the final three-man shortlist set to be chosen from the 11 nominees ahead of the December 17 award ceremony. Lewandowski, who appeared on track to win his very first Ballon d'Or before the cancellation of this year's France Football prize, is all but destined to make the final three after scoring a whopping 55 goals and assisting another 10 in 47 games en route to winning the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, and the UEFA Champions League.
The Polish is joined on the 11-man list by former team-mate Thiago Alcantara, who also played a crucial role in Bayern's treble before joining Liverpool over the summer. Three other Anfield stars make the list in the form of Van Dijk, Salah, and Mane while PSG duo and the 2019/20 UCL runners-up Mbappe and Neymar make the cut. Two of the greatest players of this generation Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi received nominations while Man City ace De Bruyne and Real Madrid captain Ramos also got the nod.
The Best FIFA Men's Player:
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Thiago Alcântara (Spain / Bayern / Liverpool)
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Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus)
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Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Man City)
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Robert Lewandowski (Poland / Bayern)
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Sadio Mané (Senegal / Liverpool)
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Kylian Mbappé (France / PSG)
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Lionel Messi (Argentina / Barcelona)
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Neymar (Brazil / PSG)
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Sergio Ramos (Spain / Real Madrid)
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Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool)
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Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands / Liverpool)
Elsewhere, the nominees for the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper and Men's Coach were also released. Alisson, Courtois, Navas, and Ter Stegen join the two shot-stoppers from last season's UCL final – Manuel Neuer and Keylor Navas – in the race to win the golden glove. As for the managerial prize, Bayern Munich's Hans-Dieter Flick is the favorite but he faces competition from Leeds' Bielsa, Liverpool's Klopp, Sevilla's Lopetegui, and Real Madrid's Zidane.
The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper:
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Alisson (Brazil / Liverpool)
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Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid)
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Keylor Navas (Costa Rica / PSG)
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Manuel Neuer (Germany / Bayern)
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Jan Oblak (Slovenia / Atlético)
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Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany / Barcelona)
The Best FIFA Men's Coach:
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Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United FC)
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Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern)
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Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool)
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Julen Lopetegui (Sevilla)
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Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
As for the Best FIFA's Women's Player, the nominees list is dominated by Lyon, with four current players from the UEFA Women's Champions League holders making the cut (Renard, Marozsán, Kumagai, and Cascarino). Lucy Bronze, who currently plays for Man City Women, also made the shortlist and is joined by Arsenal goalscoring machine Vivianne Miedema. Here is the list in full:
The Best FIFA Women's Player:
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Lucy Bronze (England/ Lyon / Man City)
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Delphine Cascarino (France / Lyon)
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Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / Barcelona)
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Pernille Harder (Denmark / Wolfsburg / Chelsea)
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Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / Barcelona)
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Ji Soyun (Korea Republic / Chelsea)
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Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea)
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Saki Kumagai (Japan / Lyon)
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Dzsenifer Marozsán (Germany / Lyon)
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Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal)
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Wendie Renard (France / Lyon)
Here are the nominees for the other women's awards:
The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper:
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Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea)
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Sarah Bouhaddi (France / Lyon)
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Christiane Endler (Chile / PSG)
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Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden / VfL Wolfsburg / Atlético Madrid Femenino)
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Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
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Ellie Roebuck (England / Man City)
The Best FIFA Women's Coach:
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Lluís Cortés (FC Barcelona)
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Rita Guarino (Juventus Women)
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Emma Hayes (Chelsea FC Women)
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Stephan Lerch (VfL Wolfsburg)
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Hege Riise (LSK Kvinner)
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Jean-Luc Vasseur (Lyon)
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Sarina Wiegman (Dutch national team)
