Ten players are on the final shortlist of nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, which was won by Lionel Messi last year.
Manchester City’s Rodri Hernández and Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior are expected to vie for this year’s The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, which is to be handed out today at the 2024 edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards.
At an event in the Qatari capital Doha, which is hosting tomorrow’s Intercontinental Cup final between Real Madrid and Pachuca, FIFA is to reveal the winners of several individual accolades. In addition to the men’s player of the year prize, the gongs on offer include The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach and The Best FIFA Women’s Coach.
Who will win The Best FIFA Men’s Player?
While Barcelona and Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí is being heavily tipped to retain the Best Women’s Player award, having already won successive Women’s Ballons d’Or in 2023 and 2024, the destination of the men’s prize appears less straightforward to predict. All that can be said with any degree of confidence is that is likely to go either to Rodri, who starred in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, or Vinícius, who in 2023/24 played a crucial role in Madrid’s 15th European Cup win.
In October, Rodri pipped Vinícius to the 2024 Men’s Ballon d’Or, picking up just 41 more points - 1,170 to 1,129 - in an extremely tight vote by a worldwide jury of journalists. After learning on the day of the gala that he was set to be beaten by the Spanish midfielder, Vinícius boycotted the Paris ceremony along with the entire Real Madrid delegation, amid claims from the club that it was being “disrespected” by the Ballon d’Or organizers.
The finalists for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award also include the back-to-back holder, Inter Miami and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has scooped the prize a record three times.
Who are the final nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2024?
Jude Bellingham (England), Real Madrid
Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (retired)
Kylian Mbappé (France), Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
Rodri Hernández (Spain), Manchester City
Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil), Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
Who votes for The Best FIFA Awards and what is the eligibility period?
According to world soccer’s governing body, The Best FIFA 2024 Awards take into account achievements during the period between August 21 2023 and August 10 2024. “The Awards are bestowed on the basis of on-pitch performance and general conduct on and off the pitch for players, and on the basis of the on-pitch performance and general behaviour of their teams on and off the pitch for coaches,” FIFA says.
The award winners are voted for by a combination of national-team captains, national-team coaches, journalists and fans, with each group’s votes weighted equally. Fans were able to cast their ballot on FIFA.com. Voting began on November 28 and ran until December 10.
The Best FIFA Awards 2024: start time, how to watch
The Best FIFA Awards 2024 take place today, Tuesday December 17, at 12 noon ET/9 a.m. PT. You’ll be able to watch the event live on FIFA.com, and can follow live-text coverage with AS USA.