Bayern Munich forwards Robert Lewandowski alongside former world best players Lionel Messi and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for FIFA Player of the Year for 2020. Kevin De Bruyne, Sadio Mane, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Virgil van Dijk were all shortlisted for the award. The 11 of them have dropped out of the running leaving the magnificent duo and an in form Lewy.
The FIFA The Best award is the rebirth of the FIFA World Player of the Year award, which ran parallel to the Ballon d'Or award from 1991 to 2009. The two awards then merged to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or from 2010 to 2015 before FIFA The Best was reintroduced in 2016. The finalists for The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2020, were announced during an online media event with FIFA Legends Hope Powell, Christie Pearce Rampone, Gilberto Silva and Pablo Aimar.
The shortlisted candidates for The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2020 are:
The Best FIFA Women’s Player:
Lucy Bronze (England / Olympique Lyonnais / Manchester City WFC)
Pernille Harder (Denmark / VfL Wolfsburg / Chelsea FC Women)
Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
The Best FIFA Men’s Player:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus FC)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München)
Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona)
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
Sarah Bouhaddi (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain)
Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
Alisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
Jan Oblak (Slovenia / Atlético de Madrid)
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
Jean-Luc Vasseur (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina / Leeds United FC)
Hans-Dieter Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München)
Jürgen Klopp (Germany / Liverpool FC)
FIFA Puskás Award:
Giorgian De Arrascaeta (URU) – Ceará SC v. CR Flamengo [Brasileirão - Brazil] (25 August 2019)
Son Heung-min (KOR) – Tottenham Hotspur FC v. Burnley FC [Premier League - England] (7 December 2019)
Luis Suárez (URU) – FC Barcelona v. RCD Mallorca [LaLiga] - Spain] (7 December 2019)
All winners, including those of the FIFA Fan Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award, will be crowned on 17 December 2020 in a TV show broadcast live, starting at 19:00 CET.
