Messi and Ronaldo duel to be world's best again

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player. The pair, who have dominated the global award in its varied forms for a decade, will be favourites to collect yet another accolade amid the 24-strong list of the world's best.Ronaldo enjoyed another remarkable season in which he inspired Real Madrid to a La Liga/Champions League double while Messi topped him in the Spanish goalscoring charts for Barcelona while going past a career landmark of 500 goals for the club. Carli Lloyd, the U.S. World Cup winner and two-time Olympic champion, was the inaugural winner and again makes the list of 10 in contention to be "Best FIFA" woman player.Zinedine Zidane, who guided Real Madrid's landmark season, with seven of their players in the men's shortlist, is recognised in his nomination as best men's coach.The awards are a revival of the old FIFA World Player of the Year, which had been combined with France Football magazine's Ballon d'Or for six years before the collaboration ended last year. Ronaldo won the inugural best trophy.They are voted for by national coaches and captains, selected media and fans, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony in London on October 23.

Read more

Mourinho lined up as Riquelme promises Haaland and Rodri in Real Madrid election battle

Jose Mourinho has emerged as Florentino Pérez's preferred candidate to return...

'He knew everything already': Why Messi's childhood coach retired at 45

Lionel Messi's showstopping talent brought a premature end to the career of...

Mahrez leads as Zidane’s son included in Algeria World Cup squad

Vladimir Petkovic has named his 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026,...
© 2A Media Limited 2026