Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp and three players — Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk — headed nominations released on Wednesday for the FIFA Best awards that will be presented in Milan on September 23.
Klopp led Liverpool, and that vital trio of players, to the Champions League trophy and also second place to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi also make the shortlist for the men’s award along with PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Belgian Eden Hazard and Dutch duo Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
American Alex Morgan and coach Jill Ellis will be favourites for the female player and women’s coach awards after spearheading the USA to the the women’s World Cup title in France last month.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus); Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands/Ajax); Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Ajax); Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea); Harry Kane (England/Tottenham); Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool); Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain); Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona); Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool); Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool)
The Best FIFA Women’s Player
Lucy Bronze (England/Lyon); Julie Ertz (USA/Chicago Red Stars); Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway/Wolfsburg); Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon); Amandine Henry (France/Lyon); Sam Kerr (Australia/Chicago Red Stars/Perth Glory); Rose Lavelle (USA/Washington Spirit); Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal); Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride); Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC); Wendie Renard (France/Lyon); Ellen White (England/Birmingham City)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach
Djamel Belmadi (Algeria); Didier Deschamps (France); Marcelo Gallardo (River Plate); Ricardo Gareca (Peru); Pep Guardiola (Manchester City); Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool); Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham); Fernando Santos (Portugal); Erik ten Hag (Ajax); Tite (Brazil)
The Best FIFA Women's Coach
Milena Bertolini (Italy), Jill Ellis (USA), Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden), Futoshi Ikeda (Japan U-20); Antonia ‘Tona’ Is (Spain U-17), Joe Montemurro (Arsenal), Phil Neville (England), Reynald Pedros (Lyon), Paul Riley (North Carolina Courage), Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands)