Lionel Messi, Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Vinicius are among the nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2024.
Super Eagles of Nigeria striker Paul Onuachu is also nominated, but for the Puskas award for a goal he scored while on loan at Turkish club Trabzonspor.
FIFA announced the shortlists of nominees for The Best FIFA Football Awards on Thursday night, saying the ceremony will “recognise the leading lights in another thrilling year of women’s and men’s football at both club and national-team levels”.
Messi, who has been voted the world’s best player a record eight times, is a surprise nominee, but earned a nomination for leading Inter Miami to their first-ever Supporters Shield, reward for having the most points in Major League Soccer regular season.
Rodri and Vinicius renew their rival after the former narrowly beat the latter to win the Ballon d’Or prize in October.
The other nominees for the men’s prize include Erling Haaland, Dani Carvajal, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
“Voting is now open on FIFA.com across a number of award categories, with fans set to play a key role in choosing the winners,” FIFA stated.
“Voting for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, The Best FIFA Women’s Player, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper and The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper will be equally weighted between fans, the current captains and coaches of all women’s/men’s national teams, and media representatives.
“The winner of the FIFA Fan Award will be chosen entirely by fans, while the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play Award will be decided by an expert panel. Voting for the new FIFA Marta Award and the FIFA Puskás Award will be split equally between fans and a panel of FIFA Legends.
“The biggest change in terms of voting for this year’s edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards is that fans will have their say in selecting The Best FIFA Men’s 11 and The Best FIFA Women’s 11. They will be able to choose from a list of 77 nominated players – 22 defenders, midfielders and forwards apiece, plus 11 goalkeepers – slotting them into one of several preset tactical formations to build their team. Votes will be weighted equally between fans and an expert panel.
“The FIFA Puskás Award has been redefined as being bestowed on the scorer of the best goal in men’s football regardless of championship or nationality.
“To honour the best goal scored in women’s football in any league around the world, the FIFA Marta Award, named after the Brazilian legend, will be presented for the very first time.
“Voting is open on FIFA.com until 23:59 CET on Tuesday, 10 December 2024. The rules of allocation for all awards are available at the FIFA Digital Hub.”
NOMINEES
The Best FIFA Women’s Player
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain), Barcelona
Barbra Banda (Zambia), Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Barcelona
Keira Walsh (England), Barcelona
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica), Manchester City
Lauren Hemp (England), Manchester City
Lindsey Horan (USA), Olympique Lyonnais
Lucy Bronze (England), Barcelona/Chelsea
Mallory Swanson (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Mariona Caldentey (Spain), Barcelona/Arsenal
Naomi Girma (USA), San Diego Wave
Ona Batlle (Spain), Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo (Spain), Barcelona
Sophia Smith (USA), Portland Thorns
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi), Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais
Trinity Rodman (USA), Washington Spirit
The Best FIFA Men’s Player
Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
Jude Bellingham (England), Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé (France), Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
Rodri (Spain), Manchester City
Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (now retired)
Vinícius Jr (Brazil), Real Madrid
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach
Arthur Elias (Brazil), Brazil
Elena Sadiku (Sweden), Celtic
Emma Hayes (England), Chelsea/USA
Futoshi Ikeda (Japan), Japan
Gareth Taylor (England), Manchester City
Jonatan Giráldez (Spain), Barcelona/Washington Spirit
Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Paris FC
Sonia Bompastor (France), Olympique Lyonnais/Chelsea
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Real Madrid
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Argentina
Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Spain
Pep Guardiola (Spain), Manchester City
Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
Alyssa Naeher (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany), Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham
Ayaka Yamashita (Japan), INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City
Cata Coll (Spain), Barcelona
Mary Earps (England), Manchester United/Paris Saint-Germain
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper
Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Real Madrid
David Raya (Spain), Arsenal
Ederson (Brazil), Manchester City
Emiliano Martínez (Argentina), Aston Villa
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Paris Saint-Germain
Mike Maignan (France), AC Milan
Unai Simón (Spain), Athletic Club
