FIFA Best Award 2018: Will the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly come to an end?

The Best FIFA Awards 2018 ceremony will be held today at Royal Festival Hall,London. The ceremony is scheduled to run from 6:30 pm UK time tonight with awards being provided in nine different categories.

The Best FIFA Men's Player is undoubtedly the main award, and is given based on performance between July 2017 and July 2018 including the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Ballon d'Or vs FIFA Best Player award:

In 2010, the FIFA World Player of the Year award was merged as a £13 million deal in a partnership with France Football's Ballon d'Or. Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best Player award were presented jointly between the years 2010 and 2016.

The award was known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, but in 2016, FIFA denied the renewal of the deal, leaving both as separate awards.

The Best FIFA Men's Player:

Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt), and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) have been shortlisted for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award category. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been dominating the award for ten years since Brazilian international Ricardo Kaka won it last time.

The award was set in controversy after Messi was not included in the shortlist for the first time in twelve years despite winning the European Golden Shoe last season.

Road to Shortlist:

Luka Modric is among the favourites to win the award after helping his side Croatia reach the World Cup Final in Russia. He also played a major role in helping Real Madrid clinch the UEFA Champions League 2018 with his control of the midfield. Modric was awarded with the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup and won UEFA's Player of the Year last month.

Mohamed Salah is the next favourite, after helping his side Liverpool reach the UEFA Champions League Final becoming the highest scorer in Premier League last season with 32 goals. He netted 44 times across all competitions last season, taking his performance to the peak of his career.

The Egypt international also had major contributions nationally, helping his country participate in the World Cup.

His side Egypt returned home after the group stage following his recovery from injury after a clash with Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos in the Champions League Final. He was also awarded with African Player of the Year for his performance last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance last season can’t be undermined because he was the major player in Real Madrid’s Champions League glory. He was the top goal scorer in the Champions League, with 15 goals.

Ronaldo scored 15 goals from the 10 qualifying matches Portugal played to reach the World Cup Finals in Russia.He also performed well in the World Cup, scoring four goals for his side, with a hattrick against Spain in group stages. However, his side Portugal suffered a disappointing Round of 16 exit against Uruguay from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The Best FIFA Women's Player:

Ada Hegerberg (Lyon & Norway)

Dzsenifer Marozsan (Lyon & Germany)

Marta (Orlando Pride & Brazil)

The Best FIFA Men's Coach:

Zlatko Dalic (Croatia)

Didier Deschamps (France)

Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

The Best FIFA Women's Coach:

Reynald Pedros (Lyon)

Asako Takakura (Japan)

Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands)

The FIFA Goalkeeper Award:

Thibaut Courtois (Belgium & Real Madrid)

Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark & Leicester)

Hugo Lloris (France & Tottenham)

Other Awards:

The FIFA Fair Play Award, The FIFA Puskás Award, The FIFA Fan Award and FIFA FIFPro World11.