The world footbal governing body FIFA has shortlisted fourteen names for the 2022 Men’s player award.
While unveiling a 14-player shortlist body announced that this year’s award will be handed out based on performances from the start of the 2021/22 season up until the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup.
After leading Argentina to glory in Qatar, Lionel Messi is unsurprisingly the headline name on the shortlist. He finished second in last year’s award to Robert Lewandowski, who has also been nominated again.
Messi is not the only member of Argentina’s squad up for The Best award, with Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez receiving a nomination. The forward is joined on the shortlist by club-mates Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
The only other player nominated currently playing their club football in England is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, though former teammate Sadio Mane, now of Bayern Munich, is too shortlisted.
In addition to Messi, PSG stars Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Achraf Hakimi have all been rewarded with European champions Real Madrid have three players on the shortlist, with Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema making the cut.
Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder Jude Bellingham is the youngest player on the shortlist at 19 years of age.
Voting for the award is split into four groups – media representatives, national team coaches, national team captains and fan votes. Each group will have 25% of the overall vote.