Former Manchester United striker, Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the 14-man shortlist for 2022 Best FIFA Men’s Player Of the Year.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi heads the shortlist after leading Argentina to World Cup glory last month.
The list was announced on Thursday, with voting opening straight away and running through until February 3 before the winner is announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony.
Messi is the standout name, having scored seven goals in as many games in Qatar to finally win the World Cup. He was also given the Golden Ball after being deemed the best player at the tournament.
See full shortlist for 2022 FIFA Player of the Year:
Lionel Messi (PSG)
Kylian Mbappe (PSG
Neymar (PSG)
Achraf Hakimi (PSG)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Julian Alvarez (Man City)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
However, it is not a foregone conclusion that he will win this award, given that it takes into account performances between August 2021 and December 2022.
This 16-month period includes Messi’s first season at PSG, which was an underwhelming one, with the forward netting just six Ligue 1 goals.
Messi’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe joins him on the shortlist after finishing the World Cup as the Golden Boot winner with eight goals to his name.
Mbappe has also been in fine form at club level, scoring 28 league goals last term, while already notching 13 this time around.
There are also some surprise names in the mix for the prestigious award, with Julian Alvarez making the cut.
Alvarez started 2022 at River Plate before joining Manchester City last summer. After a quiet start in England, the young striker showed exactly what he is capable of during the World Cup, scoring four goals as he played a significant role in Argentina’s triumph.
Alvarez is only 22, but he is not the youngest nominee – that honour goes to Jude Bellingham.
The midfielder is the only Englishman of the 14 in the running, and has been rewarded after starring at the World Cup for the Three Lions.
