Mohamed Salah Makes 11 Player Short List For FIFA Men’s Player of the Year

It’s no surprise that Mohamed Salah made the 11-player shortlist for FIFA Men’s Player of the Year. FIFA released the list on Monday ahead of the ceremony in Zurich in January 17th.

While Salah is having a huge season for Liverpool, that won’t be a factor in the judging. The nominations are determined by a player’s performance for their country and club from October 2020 to August 2021.

The other players on the shortlist for the honor include: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Jorginho, Neymar, N’Golo Kante, and Kylian Mbappe.

This is in addition to Salah being one of the 30 players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, scheduled to take place next week. Salah is a dark horse for both prizes. The oddsmakers give the advantage to either Messi or Lewandowski this time around.

Alisson Becker has also been nominated as goalkeeper of the year, a title he already won once in 2019. The other players up for this award are Gianluigi Donnarumma, Edouard Mendy, Manuel Neuer and Kasper Schmeichel.

The awards are decided by a combination of national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans.