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The Best FIFA Football Awards were started in 2016 with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging the Best Men's Player award twice (2016 and 2017). Luka Modric took the honour in 2018 after taking Croatia to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.
On Wednesday, FIFA announced the 10-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year Award. As expected, Lionel Messi was named in the list after a stellar season for Barcelona. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk too found a place after leading the Reds to Champions League glory and a second-place finish in the Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard also made the cut. However, there were some surprising exclusions from the list. Some of the top performers during the 2018/19 were not named in the top 10.
Here is the complete list of footballers nominated for the award:
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus, Netherlands), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt), Sadio Mane (Liverpool, Senegal), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid, Belgium), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona, Netherlands), Harry Kane (Tottenham, England), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France).
Without much ado, let’s take a look at 3 players who were unlucky to miss out on a nomination.
#3 Alisson Becker, Liverpool
In a game where attacking players get all the plaudits on most occasions, Alisson Becker stood apart in Liverpool’s successful 2018/19 campaign. Alisson won the Champions League with Liverpool and also kept a clean sheet in the all-important final against Tottenham Hotspur.
He also won the Copa America with Brazil a few weeks ago. He was also impressive in the Premier League last season where he conceded only 22 goals in 38 games as Liverpool were defensively the best team in the English top-flight. Based on his performances over the past 12 months, Becker was unlucky to miss out on the shortlist.
#2 Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
Raheem Sterling had a stupendous 2018-19 campaign for Manchester City. The England international played a key part in their Premier League title win and was prolific in front of goal throughout the season.
The 24-year-old finished with 17 goals and assisted 10 more in EPL last season. He also scored five goals in the UEFA Champions League. With more than 2 key passes and 2.5 dribbles per game, he was absolutely sensational for Pep Guardiola.
Raheem Sterling won the domestic treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup) with Manchester City in the 2018/19 season, along with the Community Shield. He was rightly named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2018-19 in April but should consider himself very unfortunate to miss out on The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019 shortlist.
#1 Bernardo Silva, Manchester City
It came as a huge shock when the Manchester City star was not named in the shortlist. Bernardo Silva enjoyed a hugely successful season with City and Portugal. The former Monaco midfielder was sensational in the Premier League with seven goals and seven assists to lead them to the title. He also made two key passes and 1.4 tackles per game in the league, which was hugely impressive.
The 24-year-old won the domestic treble with Manchester City, along with the Community Shield in the 2018/19 season. He then rounded off his season with a brilliant display for Portugal in the UEFA Nations League as they defeated the Netherlands in the final to win the title. The Portuguese international finished the season with 5 trophies. Bernardo Silva deserves a place at least in the top 10, if not on the podium.
