FIFA’s The Best Awards ceremony gets underway on Monday – with PSG star Lionel Messi in line to win the coveted trophy for the top men’s player.
Messi is a huge favourite to win the award after playing a stunning role in helping Argentina claim the World Cup trophy for the first time since 1986 – also winning player of the tournament.
Alongside Messi, club team-mate Kylian Mbappe has also made the final shortlist after reaching the final with France in Qatar and finishing as top scorer.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema completes the three finalists nominated having inspired his side to Champions League success.
Players who have impressed during the last year have been cut down to three candidates across seven categories.
Lionel Messi is in contention to win the men’s award at this year’s ‘The Best Awards’ ceremony
Messi’s PSG club team-mate, Kylian Mbappe, has also been shortlisted for this year’s award
Karim Benzema completes the list, having inspired Real Madrid to Champions League victory
Competing for the women’s award is Arsenal and England star Beth Mead – with Spain star Alexia Putellas and USA international Alex Morgan also nominated.
Messi’s international boss, Lionel Scaloni guided Argentina to their World Cup win and is in contention to win the award for the best coach along with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti who won the Premier League and Champions League respectively.
Sportsmail breaks down The FIFA Best Awards including who is nominated, how to watch, how it differs from the Ballon d’Or and who has previously won it.
What is FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards?
The Best FIFA Awards celebrate the top performers across the sport of football every year.
The first edition of the awards took place in 2017 for the year 2016 – with FIFA relinquishing control of the Ballon d’Or – which was a FIFA event from 2010 until 2015.
FIFA’s process sees that finalists are voted for by an international jury comprising of the current coaches and captains of all women’s and men’s national teams, one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans registered on FIFA.com.
Does the Ballon d’Or still exist and how does it differ from The Best?
The magazine France Football is responsible for the Ballon d’Or – while FIFA takes control of The Best.
France Football still hosts the Ballon d’Or every year – with Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema the current holder of the award.
Despite the two awards celebrating player performances over the year, there are a few differences between both.
The Ballon d’Or still takes place every year amid the recent arrival of ‘The Best Awards’
The Ballon d’Or takes into account performances from a player over the course of the calendar year – while The Best judges a player for the season.
Both award ceremonies are held at different times of the year. Traditionally, the Ballon d’Or takes place in December – while The Best awards take place in the autumn.
However, FIFA have had to push this year’s event back due to the World Cup taking place in Qatar over the winter.
Ordinally, the world’s biggest footballing governing body FIFA was involved with the Ballon d’Or when they merged with France Football between 2010 and 2015.
However, FIFA opted to part ways to form their new awards ceremony – with the first Best Awards taking place in 2017.
The 2022 Best Awards was delayed until Monday due to the winter staging of the World Cup
Lionel Messi helped guide his national team to their first World Cup final win since 1986
Who has previously won The Best Awards?
The first awarding ceremony was held on January 9, 2017 – with Cristiano Ronaldo winning the first award for the year 2016.
Ronaldo – who now plays for Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr – went on to win back-to-back awards.
In 2018, midfielder Luka Modric picked up the award after his impressive year for Madrid on their way to a third straight Champions League win. The Croatian also helped guide his national team to the World Cup final, in what was a remarkable year for the player.
Messi would pick up his first award in 2019 – following his success at Barcelona where the forward would help his club side win the league.
The two last two awards were won by Poland international Robert Lewandowski during his time with Bayern Munich.
In 2020, the German side won the league and Champions League – defeating PSG in the final. The following year saw Lewandowski help Munich to yet another league title.
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) won the first ‘Best Awards’ back in 2017 for the year 2016
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (right) is the current holder of the men’s ‘Best Awards’
When is The Best 2022 Awards?
The 2022 FIFA Best Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Paris tonight (Monday, February 27).
Messi, who won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with Argentina will be looking to pick up his second award.
France internationals Benzema and Mbappe make up the full finalists – with both players yet to win the men’s Best Awards
Beth Mead could win ‘The Best’ women’s award after her great year with Arsenal and England
Who are the nominees?
Best men’s Player finalists:
Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF)
Kylian Mbappe (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
Best women’s Player finalists:
Beth Mead (England / Arsenal WFC)
Alex Morgan (USA / Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave)
Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Best men’s Coach:
Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid CF)
Pep Guardiola (Manchester City FC)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentinian National Team)
Best women’s Coach:
Sonia Bompastor (Olympique Lyonnais)
Pia Sundhage (Brazilian National Team)
Sarina Wiegman (English National Team)
Best men’s Goalkeeper:
Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Sevilla FC)
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid CF)
Emiliano Martínez (Argentina / Aston Villa FC)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper:
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
Mary Earps (England / Manchester United WFC)
Christiane Endler (Chile / Olympique Lyonnais)
Final nominees for the Puskas Award
Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznań v. Stal Rzeszow [PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa] (6 November 2022)
Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille v. PAOK Thessaloniki [UEFA Europa Conference League] (7 April 2022)
Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil v. Serbia [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (24 November 2022)
Lionel Scaloni guided Argentina to their first World Cup win since 1986 in Qatar
How to watch
The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony will start at 8pm in the United Kingdom.
Fans will be able to watch the event live on FIFA’s official website for free.
Viewers in the United Kingdom will also be able to watch the ceremony live on the BBC via the red button or BBC iPlayer.
Source of data and images: dailymail
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FIFA’s The Best Awards ceremony gets underway on Monday – with PSG star Lionel Messi in line to win the coveted trophy for the top men’s player. Messi is a huge favourite to win the award after playing a stunning role in helping Argentina claim the World Cup trophy for the first time since 1986 …
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