The FIFA Best men’s player award for 2024 could be another contest between Rodri and Vinícius Júnior after the pair were included on the shortlist for the prize on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Barcelona‘s Aitana Bonmatí leads the shortlist of nominees for the women’s award.
Votes for the best players, coaches, and goalkeepers will be weighed equally between fans, current national team captains and media representatives.
A date for the awards show has not been announced yet.
Vinícius and Real Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris in October after learning that Manchester City‘s Spanish midfielder Rodri would win ahead of the Brazil international.
Rodri could add the FIFA award to his résumé after helping City to win a record fourth consecutive Premier League title as well as leading Spain to Euro 2024, where he was named the tournament’s best player.
Meanwhile, Vinícius is one his main rivals for the prize. The forward scored 24 goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions last season for LaLiga champions Madrid, including his team’s second goal in their Champions League final win against Borussia Dortmund.
He is one of six Madrid players in the running for FIFA’s men’s award, with recently-retired Toni Kroos and summer-signing Kylian Mbappé…
