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Following a long summer break, a new season of exciting football returned this weekend as Liverpool kicked off the Premier League fixtures by defeating Norwich City 4-1 on Friday night.
The tables across Europe's top five leagues will be reset, but discussions over who deserves to win the series of incoming individual awards this year are still rife.
The first of the many individual accolades to be presented is the FIFA Best Award. The football governing body set the ball in motion by announcing its list of ten nominees for the FIFA The Best Men's Player award on Wednesday last week.
The list included award regulars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were joined by Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah and breakout stars Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Virgil van Dijk.
Historically, the winner of the award will be voted for by media representatives, national team coaches, and national team captains, but the organisation announced that the general public would also have a say, with each group getting 25% of the overall vote.
The winner will be presented with the award at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, Italy on September 23, 2019.
This article examines the case for and against every nominee and attempts to rank them in order of performance.
#10 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and England)
Harry Kane's inclusion in the ten-man shortlist for the Best Men's Player in 2019 joins the increasing list of contentious decisions made by FIFA in recent years. The Tottenham Hotspur talisman has undoubtedly been one of the best strikers in England over the last five years but was struggling for form last season owing to injury.
The England international, who managed 17 league goals and four assists, missed three months of action (17 matches) following an injury sustained in the Champions League quarter-finals against Manchester City.
He had no role to play in the Spurs' journey to their first-ever Champions League final and failed to influence the game when he was rushed to play against Liverpool over semi-final hero, Lucas Moura.
Considering the quality of players who were snubbed from the list, including Fabio Quagiarella, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and Alisson Becker, Kane's consideration as one of the ten best players of the year is rather puzzling.
#9 Eden Hazard (Formerly Chelsea and Belgium)
Eden Hazard emerged as a big winner in the previous campaign and concluded his last chapter at Chelsea with a spectacular Europa League performance.
The Belgium international was easily the London outfit's best player, tallying 21 goals and 17 assists in all competitions. He was directly involved in more goals than any other player in the Premier League, netting 16 goals and providing 15 assists to take his goal contribution tally to an impressive 31.
His exploits fired the Blues straight back to the Champions League after they helped the side to the Europa League title and a third-place finish in the English top-flight.
Internationally, the 28-year-old boasts of being one of the best players in the Belgian squad, who were unfortunately unable to get past Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Nevertheless, Hazard enjoyed one of his best individual campaigns and was one of the few positives in Chelsea's season. It is no wonder that he finally managed to bag his dream move to Real Madrid this summer.
#8 Frenkie de Jong (Formerly Ajax and the Netherlands)
Frenkie de Jong emerged as one of the brightest young prospects in world football following his integral performances in the middle of the park for Ajax.
The 22-year-old was a part of an endearing squad that won hearts across the globe in the course of their breath-taking campaign in which they won a domestic double and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Dutch international unsurprisingly sealed a big move to La Liga giants, Barcelona, and now has the weight of a higher set of expectations on his shoulders.
De Jong is placed on the other half of this list because he is simply not the best player in his position or his team. He tallied a meagre four goals and four assists in 52 appearances for Ajax and while his game isn't centred around numbers, former teammates like Dusan Tadic and Matthijs de Ligt played far more influential roles in the squad.
Internationally, the Barcelona recruit helped the Netherlands reach the first-ever final of the UEFA Nations League but unfortunately lost out to a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal.
#7 Matthijs de Ligt (Formerly Ajax and the Netherlands)
Matthijs de Ligt stands out from the younger nominees courtesy of the agility and maturity he possesses at the age of 19.
The Ajax academy graduate became the Dutch giants' youngest captain and led them to a domestic double (the Eredivisie title and the KNVB Cup) as well as the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Champions League was the grand stage on which the squad of youngsters played beautiful football, winning hearts across the globe throughout what has been dubbed a 'fairytale campaign'.
Under De Ligt's leadership, Ajax got ahead of titans like Real Madrid and Juventus, with the defender famously scoring the winning goal in the quarter-finals of the competition to emerge as surprising favourites for the title.
The centre-back earned several admirers including Cristiano Ronaldo, who asked him to join Juventus this summer. It was only a matter of time until the Bianconeri signed him for a combined fee of €75 million.
Internationally, the former Ajax captain helped the Netherlands reach the final of the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League, where they were beaten by Portugal.
De Ligt joins a league of defenders who are increasingly proving themselves to be worthy of individual awards, that have been otherwise dominated by attacking players, and it is no exaggeration to say he will get there sooner or later.
#6 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
Mohamed Salah's exploits in the 2018-19 season have been under the scanner, particularly by a section of critics who labelled him a 'one-season wonder' prior to the campaign.
The beloved Egyptian forward is hardly a one-season superstar when one considers his Champions League win (together with a goal in the final) and his second Premier League Golden Boot win, which he shared with teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The 27-year-old's campaign may have been far from poor, but he was simply not at his best last season, especially in a team filled with standout performers who were crucial to Liverpool's successes.
Salah endured a frustrating period in front of goal between February and March and if it weren't for Sadio Mane's heroics, the Reds might have finished farther away from Manchester City in the Premier League race.
Internationally, Salah was upstaged by teammate Sadio Mane and Manchester City star, Riyad Mahrez, in the Africa Cup of Nations as Egypt crashed out of the tournament early despite having been heavy favourites.
Salah's under-performance in crucial games in the previous season could have seen him lose his place to someone like Alisson Becker, who has been in scintillating form for club and country, with trophies to back the same.
#5 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
Kylian Mbappe has been integral to the achievements of Paris Saint-Germain and France in the last couple of years.
Last season, the French sensation helped the Parisiens to the Ligue 1 title, netting an impressive 33 goals for the side. He was the only player who was capable of rivalling Barcelona talisman, Lionel Messi, in the race for the European Golden Shoe but eventually lost out on the accolade by three goals.
The 20-year-old also tallied four goals in the Champions League but was unable to inspire PSG beyond the Round of 16 stages where they were knocked out by an under-transition Manchester United.
Failure to prove himself in the bigger European stage could hamper his chances at winning the award, with PSG's loss to Rennes in the French Cup finals unlikely to help him either.
Internationally, Mbappe was only a part of a series of UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers and friendlies, making it easier for the rest of his competitors to overshadow him with their performances in major tournaments like the Copa America and the Africa Cup of Nations.
#4 Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Senegal)
Sadio Mane had a slow start to the 2018-19 season but finished it with a Champions League medal and a Premier League Golden Boot, which he shares with Mo Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Senegal international made sure he made up for his initial shortcomings in the later stages of the campaign, scoring 11 goals in 11 games for the Reds. He boasts of having tallied 26 goals in all competitions for Liverpool last season, making it his best goal-scoring campaign ever.
The 27-year-old played an integral part in the Merseyside club's 97-point haul in the Premier League, often rescuing the side from losing points when Salah was out of form.
Mane also led Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final but ultimately failed to get the better of eventual winners, Algeria. He may have missed two penalties in the tournament but there is no denying his importance for Senegal. The Liverpool superstar tallied three goals for the side during the tournament and led them to their first final since 2002.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)
There can't be a discussion for an individual award without Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward continued to prove his doubters wrong with a decent season, which would otherwise be considered outstanding by other players' standards.
The 34-year-old was named the Serie A Player of the Year in his debut season in the Italian top-flight after netting 21 goals and providing 8 assists for Juventus. His goal-scoring exploits helped the Old Lady to their eighth consecutive Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana. His overall goal tally last season was 28, which many believe to be meagre in comparison to his other campaigns.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was an advocate for the Bianconeri throughout their Champions League journey as well, famously netting a memorable hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 stage to overturn their two-goal deficit and book a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Juventus went on to lose a semi-final spot to Ajax but Ronaldo quickly put himself in the reckoning by netting a spectacular hat-trick against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League semi-final to fire his team to the finals, where they beat the Netherlands and won the inaugural title.
Leading Portugal to a second international title has undoubtedly put Ronaldo back in an award race that he was initially pegged to lose.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
Lionel Messi is an obvious favourite for the 2019 Best FIFA Men’s Player award, if it was based on individual statistics and consistency.
The Argentine was initially believed to be a shoo-in for all individual awards as Barcelona looked set to win the grand trifecta of La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
The 32-year-old topped all the attacking statistics in the Spanish top-flight and registered 36 league goals to easily win the Pichichi and the European Golden Shoe. He further tallied an insane total of 51 goals and 22 assists in 50 games for the Catalan giants.
Furthermore, Messi continued to be the game-changer in Barcelona's Champions League journey, netting 12 goals to finish his campaign as the top-scorer of the competition.
If the conditions for winning the award were based on numbers alone, Messi would win it without any true rival. However, the growing importance of trophies as a requirement for the award is the stumbling block for him this time around.
The Argentine maestro was unable to stop Barcelona's grand collapse in the Champions League semi-final at Anfield and what followed in the Copa del Rey final. What was pegged to be a dream first season as captain of the squad turned into a disappointing one as Barcelona ended up with only one of the three trophies - La Liga.
Internationally, Messi was unable to inspire Argentina beyond the semi-finals of the Copa America and was embroiled in controversy as he accused the CONMEBOL of rigging the tournament.
The question now is this, will Messi's individual exploits be enough for him to be named the Best FIFA Men's Player or will he fall short on trophies?
#1 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and the Netherlands)
Virgil van Dijk's role in Liverpool’s recent successes and his status as a favourite this award season have been talked about for several months and rightly so. What the attacking contenders achieved in the final third of the field, the Dutchman did more at defence.
The 28-year-old was named the 2019 PFA Player of the Year at the end of the Premier League campaign after transforming the Reds defence into one of the most impenetrable in Europe. The Dutch international commandeered the back-line alongside the likes of Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to maintain several vital clean sheets for the Merseyside club.
The centre-back was even credited with the now-infamous stat claiming he has not been dribbled past in any competitive game over the course of the 2018/19 season.
Van Dijk's influence in Liverpool's Champions League win and their incredible 97-point haul in the Premier League together with the Netherlands' journey to the UEFA Nations League final will undoubtedly earn him multiple points in the race for the FIFA Best Men's Player award.
