Real Madrid stars have took over the list of nominees for FIFA’s The Best award, with six of the 10 finalists having played for the Champions League winners in the last 12 months.
The shortlist announced by the football governing body on Friday includes Dani Carvajal, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé and the now retired Toni Kroos.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was also nominated alongside Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland, Barcelona young talent Lamine Yamal, Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi and Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz.
Messi was last year’s winner and is chasing the prize for a third successive year.
In the women’s awards, the list was dominated by Barcelona and Spain players with Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey (now of Arsenal), Ona Battle and Salma Paralluelo all nominated.
Barcelona has dominated the award in the women’s game, with Alexia Putellas’ back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022 followed by Bonmatí winning last year.
Fans can now cast their votes online until December 10. The awards ceremony is to be held in January.
