14 players shortlisted for FIFA's The Best awards

BeSoccer 1 year ago 12.3k |

Reading time: minutes

FIFA name shortlist for best player of the year. FIFA

FIFA have released their 14 player shortlist for the 2022 The Best awards, which rewards players between 8 August 2021 and the 18 December 2022. In other words, each player's performance in the World Cup will be taken into account. Certain stars like Messi are therefore favourites, which means others like Haaland are at a disadvantage.

Sadio Mane, Achraf Hakimi, Julien Alvarez, Karim Benzema, Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Vinicius Junior, Neymar, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Luka Modric, Robert Lewandowski and Jude Bellingham are the finalists for the 2022 The Best awards. FIFA released the shortlist a few weeks after the World Cup finished which was an unforgettable edition.

The organisation wrote that players' performances will be taken into account from 8th August 2021, which means from the start of the 2021-22 season, until 18th December 2022. This latest date marked the end of the international tournament mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is worth remembering that Argentina, who house two of the hopefuls for the prize, won the jackpot.

The time period for the prize will be welcomed by some players such as Messi or Julian Alvarez, who starred in December. However, others such as Erling Haaland will be at a disadvantage. Norway were not at the World Cup, so he, despite playing sensationally for Man City, could not compete with the rest of the the players to show his worth.

Amongst the nominees, veterans such as Luka Modric stand out, who is an undoubted leader for Croatia who were, once again, part of the best in the world. There are also many interesting youngsters such as Jude Bellingham, as well as the transfer market sensations and players who always feature in this type of rankings, like Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Neymar.