On November 28, FIFA introduced its 11-player shortlist for probably the most prestigious accolades in soccer, The Greatest Males’s Participant Award. Lionel Messi, who has gained The Greatest FIFA Males’s Participant award for the final two years, made it to the shortlist regardless of having a mediocre Copa America marketing campaign for Argentina. Though La Albiceleste gained the title, Messi was not their finest participant. He additionally did not do something spectacular for Inter Miami within the consideration window (August 21, 2023, to August 10, 2024), serving to them solely to the Leagues Cup.
Messi’s inclusion has come as a pleasing shock to his followers, however neutrals assume his spot ought to have gone to another person, somebody who had a extra impactful 2023-24 marketing campaign. On this record under, we are going to check out the highest 5 candidates for his spot as we discover the largest snubs of the Greatest FIFA Males’s Participant award.
Let’s start!
#5 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah didn’t have the perfect of campaigns in 2023-24, however he was nonetheless his workforce’s finest participant. He labored tirelessly, linked up along with his teammates, created goalscoring alternatives, offered wonderful assists, and scored some wonderful targets. His heroics proved essential because the Merseysiders completed third within the Premier League rankings.
Salah scored 18 targets and offered 10 assists in 32 Premier League video games final season. He additionally scored 5 instances and claimed 4 assists in 9 UEFA Europa League video games as Liverpool reached the quarter-finals.
#4 Phil Foden (Manchester Metropolis / England)
Manchester Metropolis stars Rodri and Erling Haaland have made the reduce for The Greatest FIFA Males’s Participant award, and deservingly so. However FIFA left arguably the perfect Man Metropolis participant from final season, Phil Foden, out of their shortlist. The England worldwide was the centerpiece of Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens in 2023-24 as they grew to become the primary workforce to win 4 consecutive Premier League titles. All through the season, Foden chipped in with 19 targets and eight assists in 35 Premier League video games. He additionally recorded 5 targets and three assists in eight UEFA Champions League matches. His performances allowed him to win the PFA Participant of the Season award on the finish of the 2023-24 marketing campaign.
Foden was additionally part of the England workforce that reached the 2024 European Championship last. Though his performances weren’t on top of things, Gareth Southgate counted on him all through the competitors.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr / Portugal)
Whereas Lionel Messi waltzed into the FIFA The Greatest Males’s Participant nominees, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was not deemed adequate to make the reduce. Sure, the truth that Ronaldo performs for Al-Nassr within the Saudi Professional League didn’t assist his case. However the non-European league issue didn’t harm Messi, who arguably performs in a fair much less difficult division.
Ronaldo couldn’t win the Saudi Professional League with Al-Nassr final season, however he scored a powerful 35 instances and offered 11 assists in 31 matches within the prime flight. As per Transfermarkt, Ronaldo discovered the again of the online 44 instances in 45 video games throughout competitions in 2023-24. The Portugal captain additionally competed in EURO 2024, offering an help in 5 video games as Os Navegadores reached the quarter-finals.
#2 Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England)
Premier League legend Harry Kane lastly left Tottenham Hotspur final summer time, pledging his allegiance to Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich. The English striker hit the bottom working in Bavaria, scoring 15 targets in his first 10 Bundesliga matches. Kane maintained his blistering run of kind all through the marketing campaign and completed with a chart-topping 36 targets in 32 Bundesliga video games. With a complete of 72 factors, Kane claimed the European Golden Boot on the finish of 2023-24. Sadly, even his smashing run of kind was not sufficient to safe the top-flight title for Bayern.
Kane additionally captained England to the ultimate of the 2024 European Championship. He was not at his sensible finest however he nonetheless completed the marketing campaign with a decent tally of three targets.
#1 Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan / Argentina)
Simply essentially the most surprising omission from The Greatest FIFA Males’s Participant shortlist, Lautaro Martinez had the perfect season of his profession in 2023-24. The gifted center-forward fired on all cylinders for Inter Milan over the course of the 2023-24 Serie A marketing campaign, scoring a league-best 24 targets and offering six assists in 33 matches. His essential purpose contributions helped the Nerazzurri to the Italian top-flight title.
The 27-year-old sharpshooter additionally carried his blinding kind over to the 2024 Copa America. He scored 5 targets in six matches, together with the winner in opposition to Colombia within the last to take Lionel Messi and Co. to glory. After the marketing campaign he had, Martinez not solely deserved to be on the shortlist however he additionally ought to have been one of many actual contenders to win it.
