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Arsenal legend Robert Pires has shared his thoughts on the top three nominees for this year's The Best FIFA Men's Player award ahead of the ceremony.
FIFA will crown the best male footballer of 2021 at The Best awards in Zurich tonight. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi, Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah are the finalists for the award.
Messi bagged the 2021 Ballon d'Or award in November. However, it remains to be seen if the Argentina international repeats the trick and beats Lewandowski and Salah to The Best FIFA Men's Player award tonight.
While many have tipped Messi to bag the accolade, former Arsenal star Pires has said that all three candidates are equally deserving of the award. However, the Frenchman believes Lewandowski should have won the Ballon d'Or ahead of PSG superstar Messi. Pires told Al Ahly TV (via KingFut) in this regard:
“Mohamed Salah deserves the award for best player in the world for 2021. At the same time, Robert Lewandowski and Messi also deserve to win it. Messi is a great player, but he didn’t deserve to win the Ballon d’Or; it was Lewandowski who deserved it."
FIFA named Messi the winner of The Best FIFA Men's Player award in 2019. Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski bagged the award in 2020. It now remains to be seen who takes home the accolade this time around.
Liverpool winger Salah finished seventh in the race for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. FIFA, though, have recognised the Egypt international's performances by naming him among three finalists for their version of the best player award.
Who is the frontrunner for The Best FIFA Men's Player award 2021?
Having won the 2021 Ballon d'Or award, Lionel Messi also appears to be the frontrunner to bag The Best FIFA Men's Player award. The Argentinean, though, is not guaranteed to be the winner.
Robert Lewandowski, who finished second in the race for the Ballon d'Or, has been in the form of his life. The Poland international has broken an array of records in the last two years, and could beat Messi to the award.
Despite finishing seventh in the Ballon d'Or rankings, Salah is also a strong contender to bag the accolade. FIFA have named the Egyptian in the final shortlist ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
