This could be the year when Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could lose their grip on the title of the best player in the world.
Fifa on Tuesday night released a 10-man shortlist for The Best Fifa Men’s Player, which Ronaldo and Messi have shared since 2008, with a number of strong competitors for the prize.
They are joined by Kevin De Bruyne, Antoine Griezmann, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah, Raphael Varane.
Griezmann and breakout star Mbappe were the headline acts of France’s World Cup win, while teammate Raphael Varane also won the Champions League with Real Madrid.
Belgians Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne, who pulled the strings for Manchester City’s record-breaking Premier League success, also shone.
YOUNG CONTENDER: Kylian Mbappe. Photo:David Vincent/AP
Harry Kane (31 goals) was pipped to the Premier League Golden Boot by Mohamed Salah, who scored 43 goals in the season to help Liverpool to the Champions League final.
Modric captained captain Croatia to the World Cup final after being instrumental for Euro kings Real.
Neymar, who was long-tipped to be the man to break the CR7-Messi dominance, missed out on a nomination altogether.
The voting period started on Tuesday and commences on 10 August and the winner will be named on September 24.
The nominees for The Best Fifa Men’s Coach of 2018 have also been announced with Zinedine Zidane amongst the 11 contenders
National team coaches like France’s Didier Deschamps and Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic have been selected in the nomination process in the wake of their exploits in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Player List: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real, Portugal), De Bruyne (Man City, Belgium), Griezmann (A. Madrid, France), Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium), Kane (Spurs, England), Mbappe (PSG, France), Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Modric (Real, Croatia), Salah (Liverpool, Egypt), Varane (Real, France).