Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo are among the nominees for FIFA’s The Best award for 2019, along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, organisers have announced.
Premier League Player of the Year Van Dijk won the Champions League with Liverpool last season, as well as finishing runner up in the UEFA Nations League with Netherlands.
Ronaldo — who won the award in 2016 and 2017 — helped Juve to the Serie A title in his first season at the club, ffinishing the season with 21 league goals. However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was unable to claim Champions League glory four a fourth consecutive campaign, exiting the competition in the quarterfinals against Ajax.
Messi guided Barcelona to the La Liga title in his first season as captain at Camp Nou, but also fell short in the Champions League, as the Catalan side fell to a 4-3 aggregate defeat to Liverpool in the semifinals.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who won the award last year, has not been nominated.
Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp has been nominated for coach of the year alongside Manchester City’s Pep Guadiola, Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and seven others.
Women’s World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe has been nominated for the women’s prize for best player, having won the Women’s World Cup Golden Boot with six goals. Brazil’s Marta — who took home her sixth world player of the year award last year — has also been nominated.
USWNT coach Jill Scott is among the nominees for the women’s prize for best coach after winning the Women’s World Cup in France earlier this month. England women’s team coach Phil Neville is also up for the award after the Lionesses made the semifinal of the competition, losing to the eventual winners.
Last year’s women’s Coach of the Year, former Lyon manager Reynald Pedros, has again been nominated for the award, having won the Champions League for a second time with the French side.
The Best awards will be held on Sept. 23 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominations
Cristiano Ronaldo, Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk.
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominations
Lucy Bronze, Julie Ertz, Caroline Graham Hansen, Ada Hegerberg, Amandine Henry, Sam Kerr, Vivianne Miedema, Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Wendie Renard, Ellen White.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominations
Djamel Belmadi, Didier Deschamps, Marcelo Gallardo, Ricardo Gareca, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Fernando Santos, Erik ten Hag, Tite.
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominations
Milena Bertolini, Jill Ellis, Peter Gerhardsson, Futoshi Ikeda, Antonia Is, Montemurro, Phil Neville, Reynald Pedros, Paul Riley, Sarina Wiegman.