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Cristiano Ronaldo's name is not on the list of 14 candidates for The Best award announced by FIFA on January 12th. This is the first time Ronaldo has not been on the list since FIFA started voting in 2016.
This is due to his poor performance in the 2021-2022 season with Manchester United, where they finished sixth in the English Premier League and were eliminated in the first round of the Champions League. Ronaldo also did not perform well with the Portuguese national team, being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup and only contributing a penalty goal.
In addition to his performance decline, Ronaldo also caused many problems off the field. He had a negative reaction to being substituted and publicly criticized Manchester United and coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. On November 24th, Ronaldo and Manchester United agreed to terminate his contract six months early.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi is the most notable name on the list of The Best award candidates. In 2022, the 35-year-old forward won Ligue 1 with PSG, the Copa America with the Argentina national team, and the World Cup. Personally, he left a positive impression with 13 goals and 14 assists in 20 club matches in the 2022-2023 season, as well as seven goals and three assists at the 2022 World Cup, where he was voted the tournament's best player.
Messi previously won The Best award in 2019. If he wins this year, he will tie Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski's record of three wins. The last player to win the award was Luka Modric in 2018.
Messi's PSG teammates Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Achraf Hakimi are also on the list of candidates. So are Real Madrid players Karim Benzema, Vinicius, and Modric, who won La Liga and the Champions League? Manchester City's midfielder De Bruyne and forwards Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez also made the list. Haaland has 27 goals in 23 matches in the 2022-2023 season, while Alvarez scored four goals at the World Cup. The award ceremony will take place on February 27th.
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