On September 14, FIFA released the 12-man nominees list for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award 2023. Last year’s winner, Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina); Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, and Paris Saint-Germain’s French superstar Kylian Mbappe are the most notable nominees for the eighth edition of the prestigious award.
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal), Declan Rice (West Ham United, Arsenal, Englan), Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Nigeria), Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli, Georgia), Rodri (Manchester City, Spain), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City, Germany), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan, Al-Nassr, Croatia), and Julian Alvarez (Manchester City, Argentina) are the other nine players who have made the cut.
FIFA only considered the contenders’ performances between December 19, 2022, and August 20, 2023, which nullifies the effect of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and focuses primarily on club achievements. Keeping that in mind, here are five players who were shockingly discarded from the list of nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award.
#5 Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid
One of the best midfielders in the world at the moment, Jude Bellingham has not been named in the list of nominees for this year’s The Best FIFA Men’s Player. The sensational central midfielder, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in July, was the German side’s best player last term. The Englishman appeared in 42 games for Dortmund in the 2022-23 season, scoring 14 times and claiming seven assists.
Bellingham, 20, has also hit the ground running at the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring six times in six games across competitions.
#4 Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur/Bayern Munich
Harry Kane, who joined Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur in August, was the second-best goalscorer in the English Premier League last season, a step behind the sensational Erling Haaland. Kane appeared in all 38 games in the 2022-23 Premier League season, scoring an impressive 30 times.
Despite his excellent performances in front of goal, Tottenham failed to win any trophy in the 2022-23 season, possibly keeping him from breaking into the list of The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award nominees.
#3 Jack Grealish – Manchester City
Probably Manchester City’s second-best performer (after Erling Haaland) in the 2022-23 season, Jack Grealish has surprisingly not been nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award this year.
Following a disappointing debut season (2021-22), Grealish came on his own last term, not only creating an abundance of goalscoring opportunities but also scoring quite a few himself. Additionally, he tweaked his playing style, choosing function over form for the first time. Finally, the way he improved his defensive work rate was also noteworthy.
The Treble Winner appeared in 50 games for City in all competitions, scoring five times and providing 11 assists.
#2 Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona
Barcelona center-forward Robert Lewandowski emerged as the most prolific scorer in his debut season in La Liga. The Poland superstar netted 23 times in 34 games in La Liga, winning the Pichichi Trophy (La Liga top goalscorer award) and helping the Blaugrana to the Spanish top-flight title.
Lewandowski, 35, also produced the goods for the Catalan outfit in the UEFA Champions League. Although he could not prevent them from crashing out in the group stage of the competition, his return of five goals in as many games was commendable.
#1 Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior was arguably Real Madrid’s best player in the 2022-23 season, with the Brazilian not only scoring excellent goals but also popping up with decisive assists. The jet-heeled winger led by example in terms of work rate as well, never grimacing when asked to fetch the ball and firing on all cylinders from start to finish. His absence from The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominations is quite shocking.
The 23-year-old winger played 55 matches for Los Blancos last season, scoring 23 times and providing 21 assists. His three goals and four assists in five games proved to be decisive as Madrid won the Copa del Rey for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
