Rodri and Vinicius Junior will battle it out for another coveted individual award after the pair were included in the shortlist for the The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize.
Football’s world governing body released the nominees for each of its honors at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 on Thursday.
Rodri and Vinicius – the winner and runner-up at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony in October, respectively – are joined by nine other nominees in the men’s category.
Meanwhile, Aitana Bonmati is widely considered the favorite for the Best Women’s Player award. Among the other contenders for the top women’s individual prize are Bonmati’s Barcelona teammates, Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo, and an exciting American contingent headlined by the Portland Thorns’ Sophia Smith.
The sport’s finest coaches and goalkeepers will also be recognized.
Best Men’s Player
- Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid and Spain)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
- Federico Valverde (Real Madrid and Uruguay)
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany)
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid and France)
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
- Rodri (Manchester City and Spain)
- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany) – Now retired
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Best Women’s Player
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona and Spain)
- Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride and Zambia)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona and Norway)
- Keira Walsh (Barcelona and England)
- Khadija Shaw (Manchester City and Jamaica)
- Lauren Hemp (Manchester City and England)
- Lindsey Horan (Lyon and United States)
- Lucy Bronze (Barcelona/Chelsea and England)
- Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars and United States)
- Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona/Arsenal and Spain)
- Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave and United States)
- Ona Batlle (Barcelona and Spain)
- Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona and Spain)
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns and United States)
- Tabitha Chawinga (Paris Saint-Germain/Lyon and Malawi)
- Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit and United States)
Best Men’s Coach
- Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
- Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
- Luis de la Fuente (Spain)
- Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
- Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen)
Best Women’s Coach
- Arthur Elias (Brazil)
- Elena Sadiku (Celtic)
- Emma Hayes (Chelsea/USA)
- Futoshi Ikeda (Japan)
- Gareth Taylor (Manchester City)
- Jonatan Giraldez (Barcelona/Washington Spirit)
- Sandrine Soubeyrand (Paris FC)
- Sonia Bompastor (Lyon/Chelsea)
Best Men’s Goalkeeper
- Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid and Ukraine)
- David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
- Ederson (Manchester City and Brazil)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa and Argentina)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Italy)
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan and France)
- Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars and United States)
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham and Germany)
- Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City and Japan)
- Cata Coll (Barcelona and Spain)
- Mary Earps (Manchester United/Paris Saint-Germain and England)
The qualifying period for the awards was between Aug. 21, 2023 and Aug. 10, 2024.
Votes for the best players, coaches, and goalkeepers will be weighed equally between fans, current national team captains, and media representatives.
Other awards for the best goals in women’s and men’s football will be decided by fans and a panel of “FIFA legends.” Fans and an expert panel will also determine the 22 players inducted into The Best FIFA Men’s 11 and The Best FIFA Women’s 11.
A date for the awards show is yet to be announced.