The finalists for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award are Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland, despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s impressive goalscoring performances with Al Nassr.
As the Best FIFA Football Awards draw near, Lionel Messi from Inter Miami, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé have emerged as the top contenders for the prestigious award.
Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished 2023 as the leading goalscorer globally, has been excluded from the final shortlist for the third consecutive year.
How many times has Ronaldo won Best FIFA Men’s Player?
Despite winning the first two Best FIFA Men’s Player awards in 2016 and 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo has been omitted from the final shortlist for the third consecutive year. Notably, he wasn’t even among the initial nominees for the second year in a row.
At 38, Ronaldo joins Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski and Messi as one of three players to have won the award twice.
Messi now has the opportunity to surpass them and become the most decorated men’s player in the history of the Best FIFA Football Awards.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible 2023
Ronaldo has been snubbed despite performing superbly in 2023 for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, with his move away from elite-level soccer presumably the reason for his omission rather than his on-field achievements. The former Real Madrid attacker outscored everyone else in world soccer with 54 goals, two more than Mbappé and four better than Haaland, who won the Premier League-Champions League-FA Cup treble with City.
The Portugal captain picked up silverware of his own, however, leading Al Nassr to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup victory by scoring two decisive goals in the final against Saudi Arabian rivals Al Hilal, who signed Neymar days after the match.
On a personal level, that was Ronaldo’s first trophy since 19 May 2021, when he won the Coppa Italia towards the end of his time with Juventus and before moving back to Manchester United.
FIFA doesn’t recognise Arab Club Champions Cup as major competition
Despite his outstanding performances for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo has been overlooked for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award, likely due to his move away from top-tier European soccer rather than his on-field achievements.
Ronaldo finished the season as the top goalscorer in world soccer with 54 goals, surpassing both Mbappé (52 goals) and Haaland (50 goals), who won the treble with Manchester City.
Ronaldo’s stint with Al Nassr also saw him lead the team to their first-ever Arab Club Champions Cup victory, where he played a pivotal role by scoring two crucial goals in the final against Al Hilal. This triumph marked Ronaldo’s first trophy since winning the Coppa Italia with Juventus in May 2021 before his return to Manchester United.
It’s worth noting that FIFA does not officially recognize the Arab Club Champions Cup as a major competition. However, Ronaldo remains a contender for a spot in the FIFPro Men’s World 11 for 2023 and was honored by FIFA in 2022 for becoming the all-time top goalscorer in men’s international soccer.
For the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, performances between December 19, 2022 (the day after the 2022 World Cup final), and August 20, 2023, were considered. AS USA will provide live-text commentary of the ceremony to keep fans updated on all the action.
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