FIFA have announed the shortlist for the shortlist of nominees for The Best Men's Player award with Vinicius Junor and Rodri set to go head-on again.
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The Best FIFA Men's Player award nominees revealedVinicius and Rodri headline as Ballon d'Or rivalry renewedMessi, Mbappe, Bellingham and Haaland also nominatedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Real Madrid star Vinicius lost out on the Ballon d'Or last month to Manchester City's Rodri in controversial circumstances, which led to the European champions pulling out of attendance for the prestigious award ceremony in Paris at the last minute altogether and hitting out at those who didn't vote for him. The Brazilian will now get his shot at revenge against the Spanish midfielder as the two headline the nominees list for The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2024.
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FIFA released the list of nominees just before midnight on Thursday with Vinicius joined by Real Madrid colleagues Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde and Dani Carvajal, as well as the retired Toni Kroos. Also on the list is Rodri's Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland and Spanish compatriot Lamine Yamal. The other nominees are three-time The Best award winner and defending champion Messi, and Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Ballon d'Or voting system came under a lot of scrutiny with journalists playing the key role in determining the winner as Rodri won the prestigious award over Vinicius. However, the voting system for The Best FIFA Men's Player award will be equally weighted between votes from the fans, the current captains and coaches of all women’s and men’s national teams, and select media representatives.
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The Best FIFA Awards ceremony is set to take place in January as the award takes into consideration the entire calendar year unlike the Ballon d'Or, which considers the season prior. A date has not been revealed for the ceremony, however, voting for fans will remain open on FIFA.com until 23:59 CET on December 10, 2024.
