Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, Mohammed Salah and Luka Modric are among the nominees of the Nest FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award for 2018.
Ronaldo, who won the award in 2017, guided Madrid to their third Champions League title in a row, while Messi scored 34 league goals to guide Barca to the Liga title.
World Cup winners Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane join international team-mate Mbappe on the list, and Golden Boot winner Harry Kane is also included.
OFFICIAL | The nominees for #TheBest FIFA Men’s Player 2018:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kevin De Bruyne
Antoine Griezmann
Eden Hazard
Harry Kane
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Mohamed Salah
Raphael VaraneFor the period 3 July 2017-15 July 2018 pic.twitter.com/bqt8tDWY8d
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 24, 2018
Salah, meanwhile, is rewarded for an incredible season at club level with Liverpool; the 26-year-old scored a record-breaking 32 goals in 36 league appearances to help the Reds finish fourth in the table.
There is further Premier League representation in the form of Belgium duo Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard – the former one of Pep Guardiola’s key players in Manchester City’s title-winning season.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric also makes the final 10 as he claimed Champions League glory and played a pivotal role in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final – ending the competition as the Golden Ball winner as the tournament’s best player.
There is, however, no place for Neymar, who finished third in last year’s voting, after an injury-hit season with PSG and difficult World Cup that saw Brazil knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Belgium.
FIFA have also announced the nominees for the Coach of the Year award, with the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Guardiola and England manager Gareth Southgate all part of the list.
The award ceremony takes place in London on 24 September, with fans votes, and those of journalists, national team coaches and captains all contributing to the outcome of the final three.
