The mega Juventus summer signing is among a list of 10 players vying for the 2018 Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only titleholder of the Best FIFA Men’s Player award. He scooped the prize in the maiden edition in 2016 and retained his crown the following year. Could he make it three in a row just as his vital goals guided ex-side Real Madrid to claim the UEFA Champions League trophy thrice consecutively?
Here are the nine players competing against Ronaldo:
OFFICIAL | The nominees for #TheBest FIFA Men’s Player 2018:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kevin De Bruyne
Antoine Griezmann
Eden Hazard
Harry Kane
Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Mohamed Salah
Raphael VaraneFor the period 3 July 2017-15 July 2018 pic.twitter.com/bqt8tDWY8d
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) July 24, 2018
The 10-man shortlist was selected by a panel of FIFA expert. The criteria include the players’ behavior on and off the field. Performances ranging from July 3 last year to July 15 this year are taken under account.
During this 12-month timeframe, Cristiano’s 15 goals in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers fired his nation to Russia 2018. At the tournament, his crucial hat-trick helped Portugal snatch a point away from Spain on Matchday 1. He increased his tally to four goals with a vital winner against Morocco en route to reaching the Last 16 where the European champions lost to quarter-finalists Uruguay.
In between the end of the European World Cup qualifiers and the finals in Russia, Cristiano came through victorious from a difficult 2017/18 club football season which proved to be his last as a Real Madrid player. The reigning UEFA Champions League topscorer collected his fifth UCL title to match the feat of clubs like Liverpool and Barcelona.
OFFICIAL: Cristiano Ronaldo in the 10-man shortlist for #TheBest FIFA Men's Player award. He's the only player to have won this award in history.
🏆 2016 ☑
🏆 2017 ☑
🏆 2018 ❓❓❓❓ pic.twitter.com/3PEbt0sgVe— CRonaldoDaily.com (@BreatheRonaldo) July 24, 2018
CRD7 wishes to remind readers that the Best FIFA Men’s Player award is not the Ballon d’Or and that the “FIFA Ballon d’Or” does not exist anymore after World Football’s governing body and France Football ended their collaboration for the golden prize. The Best FIFA Men’s Player award is part of the FIFA Football Awards. The 2018 edition is scheduled to take place on Monday, September 24 in London.
