Luka Modric looks to once again get the better of
Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah when FIFA announces its Best
Men's Player on Monday.
The three are finalists for the annual honour, which will be
presented at the world governing body's Best Football Awards in
London.
It's the second piece of silverware the trio has vied for in 2018
after Modric captured the UEFA men's player of the year award last
month.
Modric teamed up with Ronaldo last season to help Real Madrid capture
its third consecutive Champions League title.
He then was the driving force as Croatia reached the World Cup final,
winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's top player.
The midfielder's performance in Russia makes him the choice of
one former World Cup standout.
"Croatia were the surprise package at the World Cup," ex-Germany
captain Oliver Kahn said on FIFA's website.
"Luka Modric won the Champions League and also put in some
unbelievable performances at the tournament, both physically and in
terms of his play.
"He's the favourite to win it this year for me."
Ronaldo, who joined Italian champions Juventus over the summer, is no
stranger to the honour, having won it five times in all of its
incarnations.
His first came in 2008 with the FIFA World Player of the Year, which
was followed by the Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014.
The trophy then became part of the FIFA Best Awards in 2016 and he's
been the only winner since.
Salah is another worthy finalists after topping the Premier League
with 38 goals last season, his first with Liverpool.
He also helped the Reds to the Champions League final and led Egypt
to its first World Cup appearance since 1990.
While none of France's World Cup-winning side were nominated for the
player award, the man who led them to victory is among the top coach
finalists.
Didier Deschamps is up against last year's winner Zinedine Zidane,
who orchestrated Real Madrid's European title run, and Zlatko Dalic,
who guided Croatia to their first appearance in a World Cup final.
France's World-Cup winning captain Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur;
Belgium's Thibaut Courtois, who moved from Chelsea to Real Madrid
this summer; and Denmark and Leicester City's Kasper Schmeichel are
the top goalkeeper finalists.
Norway's Ada Hegerberg and Germany's Dzsenifer Marozsan of European
and French champions Lyon and Marta, who captained Brazil to the Copa
America Feminina title, are finalists for the top women's player
award.
Sarina Wiegman, the 2017 winner after leading the Netherlands to the
European championship, looks to repeat as top women's coach against
Reynald Pedros, who guided Lyon to the European/French double, and
Asako Takakura, who oversaw Japan's run to the Asian Cup
championship.
The men's and women's player and coach awards will be decided in a
vote of the captains and coaches of national teams worldwide, along
with media and an online public ballots, while the goalkeeper winner
is chosen by a select FIFA panel.