Lewandowski, Messi and Ronaldo in race for FIFA best

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European player of the year Robert Lewandowski is one of 10 players on the shortlist for the Best Fifa Men’s Player award unveiled on Wednesday, alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Besides Polish striker Lewandowski, one other winner of the Champions League with Bayern Munich made the list, Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who joined Liverpool in September.

The English champions also count Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Egyptian Mohamed Salah and Dutchman Virgil van Dijk on the shortlist.

Paris Saint-Germain, beaten Champions League finalists, are represented by Mbappe and Neymar.

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos complete the list.

Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa, who led Leeds into the English Premier League, headlines a list for the men’s coach award, which also features Bayern’s Hans-Dieter Flick, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp, Sevilla’s Julen Lopetegui and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane.

Three finalists from categories also including men and women’s goalkeepers, and women’s players and coaches will be announced on December 11, with the award handed out on December 17.

The list of nominees for Best FIFA Women’s Player Award includes Lucy Bronze, Delphine Cascarino, Caroline Graham Hansen, Pernille Harder, Jennifer Hermoso, Ji So-yun, Sam Kerr, Saki Kumagai, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Vivianne Miedema and Wendie Renard.

In the men’s goalkeeper category, the shortlisted candidates are Alisson Becker, Thibaut Courtois, Keylor Navas, Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Daily Pioneer
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