Manchester City’s Rodri and Erling Haaland Nominated for Fifa Men’s Award

Manchester City players Rodri and Erling Haaland are the sole Premier League representatives among the 11 nominees for the best male player category at the 2024 Fifa Best Awards. Their inclusion follows City’s historic achievement as the first team in English top-flight history to secure four consecutive league titles. Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham is also one of the 11 candidates for the accolade, which predominantly features players based in Spain. Lionel Messi, the recipient of the 2023 award, stands as the only nominee who plays outside of Europe. Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is considered a strong contender for the prize, facing competition from Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, who secured the runner-up position to the Spaniard in the October voting. Bellingham, aged 21, who placed third in the Ballon d’Or voting, aspires to become the first male English player to claim the Fifa prize. The ultimate decision for the award will be made through an equally weighted contribution from fans, the current captains and coaches of all women’s and men’s national teams, and media representatives. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who was named coach of the year in 2023, has received another nomination. He is joined by Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, and Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. For the goalkeeper of the year award, nominees include Arsenal’s David Raya, Manchester City’s Ederson, and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. The remaining nominees in this category are Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin, Paris St-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, and Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simon. The complete list of nominees includes: Dani Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid) Erling Haaland (Norway/Manchester City) Federico Valverde (Uruguay/Real Madrid) Florian Wirtz (Germany/Bayer Leverkusen) Jude Bellingham (England/Real Madrid) Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris St-Germain/Real Madrid) Lamine Yamal (Spain/Barcelona) Lionel Messi (Argentina/Inter Miami) Rodri (Spain/Manchester City) Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid) Vinicius Jr (Brazil/Real Madrid) Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) Luis de la Fuente (Spain) Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen) Andriy Lunin (Ukraine/Real Madrid) David Raya (Spain/Arsenal) Ederson (Brazil/Manchester City) Emiliano Martinez (Argentina/Aston Villa) Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy/Paris St-Germain) Mike Maignan (France/AC Milan) Unai Simon (Spain/Athletic Bilbao)