Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati were named finalists for the FIFA Best Players of the Year Awards by world football’s governing body on Thursday.
Messi was awarded a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or crown in October in Paris, while Bonmati took the women’s prize after starring for Spain in their Women’s World Cup triumph.
Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are the other nominees for the FIFA Men’s Best Player Award, with Bonmati’s Spanish teammate, Jenni Hermoso, and Colombian teenage sensation, Linda Caicedo, also named on the women’s shortlist.
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The men’s finalists were named based on performances from December 19, 2022, until August 20 this year, with the women’s decided by achievements between August 1, 2022, and August 20, 2023, the day of the World Cup final.
The awards ceremony will take place in London on January 15.
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