BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are on the short-list for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award, while Spain’s Aitana Bonmati is among the nominees for the Best Women’s Player on the back of winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup.
Half of the dozen nominees in the men’s category were part of Manchester City’s 2022-23 treble-winning squad, while City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola is nominated for Best Men’s Coach.
Spain’s World Cup win sees four of their players among the 16 nominees for the women’s award. World Cup runners-up England have four players on the list, with Sarina Wiegman up for the women’s coaching award, while Australia have three players.
World Cup winners Messi of Argentina and Spain’s Alexia Putellas are the current holders of the top player awards.
The nominees were shortlisted by a panel of soccer experts that included retired players Mia Hamm and Didier Drogba.
Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on Thursday on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Ken Ferris)
