The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award ceremony is scheduled for Monday night in Zurich. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi, and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski are three finalists and Salah is the favourite to lift this prestigious award.
Robert Lewandowski won this award last year and is in contention to do that again after stellar performances in 2021. The Polish striker also scored a stunning hat-trick in the last match to remind everyone of his form. The 33-year-old forward has scored 32 goals in 26 appearances this season and obviously led the Bundesliga scoring charts with 23 goals in 19 fixtures. Former Borussia Dortmund star has now scored 300 league goals in his career and is closing on legendary Gerd Muller’s record of 365 goals.
Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi won the Ballon dÓr this year ahead of his favourite Robert Lewandowski. Messi made his infamous exit at Barcelona after they couldn’t afford his wages even after a fifty per cent deduction. Seven times Ballon dÓr winner joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. There were a lot of expectations from the fans towards Messi but the Argentine legend has struggled in the first half of the season with fitness. Messi has scored just 1 goal and assisted 4 in 11 Ligue 1 matches.
Recently Messi missed the last 3 matches after testing positive for the Covid-19. But he is in the top three to win The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year because of his Copa America triumph with Argentina last year, where he was the tournament’s top goal-scorer. He also ended his Barcelona spell with 30 goals and 9 assists in 35 La Liga matches.
The last but favourite-to-win player on this list is Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has been in excellent form recently with 23 goals in 26 matches, and 9 Premier League assists. He is leading Premier League charts for goals and assists and is on the course to breaking his own record of 32 league goals. Salah failed to win any trophy last year as Liverpool finished the league in the 3rd spot.
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player:
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Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München)
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Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona / Paris Saint-Germain)
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Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC)
? The Best FIFA Men's Player 2021 should be ______
?? Lionel Messi
?? Mohamed Salah
?? Robert Lewandowski#TheBest | #UCL— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 10, 2022
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Women’s Player:
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Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / FC Barcelona)
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Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women)
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Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona)
The final three nomieness for the FIFA Puskas Award:
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Erik Lamela (ARG) – Arsenal FC v. Tottenham Hotspur FC [Premier League] (14 March 2021)
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Patrik Schick (CZE) – Czech Republic v. Scotland [UEFA EURO 2020] (14 June 2021)
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Mehdi Taremi (IRN) – Chelsea FC v. FC Porto [UEFA Champions League] (13 April 2021)
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
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Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy / AC Milan / Paris Saint-Germain)
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Edouard Mendy (Senegal / Chelsea FC)
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Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper:
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Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
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Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain / Olympique Lyonnais)
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Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbe (Canada / FC Rosengård / Paris Saint-Germain)
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
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Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC)
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Roberto Mancini (Italy / Italian national team)
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Thomas Tuchel (Germany / Chelsea FC)
The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
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Lluís Cortes (Spain / FC Barcelona)
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Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
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Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team / English national team)
These awards are voted by an international jury which consists of National Head Coach(Men/Women), National Team Captain(Men/Women), specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team, and fans(vote on official FIFA website).