Barcelona and Argentine forward, Lionel Messi has been left off the podium for FIFA’s The Best for the first time in a decade, Spanish outlet Diario Sport has reported.
The three men set to be announced are Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohammed Salah.
They top a shortlist of 10, which did include Messi, along with De Bruyne, Varane, Salah, Hazard, Kane and Mbappe. The official shortlist will be announced by FIFA on Monday.
Last Thursday, at the Champions League draw, Modric was named as the best player in Europe for last season. Real Madrid also scooped the positional prizes at the event: Keylor Navas (goalkeeper), Sergio Ramos (defender), Modric (midfielder) and Ronaldo (forward), now at Juventus but chosen for his performances with Los Blancos.
Messi has finished second in the two editions of The Best to date, always behind Cristiano. Neymar was third in 2016 and Griezmann in 2017.
The winner will be named on September 24 at a gala in London. The prizes are voted for by players, coaches journalists and fans through the Internet.
