Ronaldo, Modric, Messi, Teen Mbappe Shortlisted for Best FIFA Men’s Player Award

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Croatia skipper Luka Modric, Argentina star Lionel Messi and France's 19-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe have been shortlisted for the Best FIFA Men's Player award, world football's governing body announced.
Sputnik

The list also comprises six other players all of whom starred at this summer's FIFA World Cup in Russia, including another France forward, Antoine Griezmann, England's Golden Boot winner for the most goals scored at the tournament Harry Kane and Egypt's Mohamed Salah.

Belgium's midfield duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard were also named among the nominees for the award, with France's Raphael Varane being the only defender to make the list.

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Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Portugal's opening 3-3 draw against Spain at the World Cup after also winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. His teammate Modric was named the best player of the tournament after captaining Croatia to their first-ever final.

Messi scored just one goal for Argentina at the World Cup but had helped Barcelona win both the Spanish La Liga and Copa del Rey. Mbappe became only the second teenager, after Brazil legend Pele, to score in the World Cup final as the Paris Saint-Germain star helped France claim their second title.

READ MORE: 'A True Genius': Argentine Football Coach Instructs Team to Be on Messi's Level

The awards ceremony will be held in London on September 24.

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19-year-old Mbappe won the FIFA Young Player award as his side beat Croatia 4-2 in the final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to lift their second World Cup trophy.

Croatia midfielder and captain Luka Modric won the Golden Ball award at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.    

Russia hosted its first World Cup from June 14 to July 15 with the games held in 11 cities across the country: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, and Sochi.

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