Messi, Ronaldo, Salah, Lewandowski among 11 shortlisted for Best FIFA Men's Player 2021 award
The quartet were joined by Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea duo N'Golo Kante and Jorginho.
FollowFormer Barcelona legend and Paris St Germain's forward Lionel Messi, Manchester United's striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah are among 11 players shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men's Player award, the world football governing body revealed on Monday (November 22).
The trio is joined by last year's FIFA Best Men's Player winner Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea exceptional duo N'Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Real Madrid's forward Karim Benzema, Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and Paris St Germain pair Kylian Mbappe and Neymar complete the list.
Watch this video for the complete list of the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2021 nominees:
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After leading Chelsea to the Champions League title, Thomas Tuchel is a frontrunner for the Best FIFA Men's coach award. The German faces competition from Italy's Euro 2020 triumph mastermind, Roberto Mancini.
Other nominees are Germany's Hansi Flick, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Tottenham Hotspur's newly-appointed boss Antonio Conte, Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone and Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
Antonio Conte (Italy / FC Internazionale Milano / Tottenham Hotspur FC)
Hansi Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München / German national team)
Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC)
Roberto Mancini (Italy / Italian national team)
Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (Argentina / Argentinian national team)
Diego Simeone (Argentina / Atlético de Madrid)
Thomas Tuchel (Germany / Chelsea FC)
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In what comes as no surprise, Chelsea's Édouard Mendy made it to the list of nominees for the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper alongside Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer and PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma, among others.
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
Alisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy / AC Milan / Paris Saint-Germain)
Édouard Mendy (Senegal / Chelsea FC)
Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark / Leicester City FC)
As far as the Best FIFA Women's Player 2021 are concerned, Women's Super League players dominated the nominations with Arsenal's Vivianne Miedema, City duo Lucy Bronze and Ellen White and Chelsea quartet Sam Kerr, Magdalena Eriksson, Pernille Harder and Ji So-yun all in contention.
Barcelona's Alexia Putellas, Jennifer Hermoso, Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham Hansen too, have been included in the women's best player shortlist. Canada's Olympic gold medallist Christine Sinclair is in contention too, along with Sweden's Stina Blackstenius.
The Best FIFA Women’s Player:
Stina Blackstenius (Sweden / BK Häcken)
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Lucy Bronze (England / Manchester City WFC)
Magdalena Eriksson (Sweden / Chelsea FC Women)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / FC Barcelona)
Pernille Harder (Denmark / Chelsea FC Women)
Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Ji Soyun (Korea Republic / Chelsea FC Women)
Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC)
Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Christine Sinclair (Canada / Portland Thorns FC)
Ellen White (England / Manchester City WFC)
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper:
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain / Olympique Lyonnais)
Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé (Canada / FC Rosengård / Paris Saint-Germain)
Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden / Atlético de Madrid Femenino)
Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
Emma Hayes, who led Chelsea to the 2021 Champions League final, is joined on The Best FIFA Women's Coach shortlist by England manager Sarina Wiegman and Canada coach Beverly Priestman.
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
Lluís Cortés (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden / Swedish national team)
Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
Beverly Priestman (England / Canadian national team)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team / English national team)
The awards for the Best FIFA men's and women's player, coach and goalkeeper are voted for by the coaches and captains of all national teams globally and an online ballot of fans and a select number of media professionals and journalists. Voting will run from November 22, 2021 to December 10, 2021. Three finalists from each category will be shortlisted based on the results in January 2022 and the awards will be handed over in a virtual ceremony from the FIFA headquarters in Zurich on January 17 next year. Meanwhile, a separate Ballon d'Or award ceremony will be staged in Paris on November 29.
