Lionel Messi Cristiano RonaldoGetty

Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo's last stand? Legendary rivals headline nominations for The Best FIFA Men's 11 but Mohamed Salah & Robert Lewandowski shunned with 77 players eligible for voting

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  • Messi & CR7 headline attacking nominees
  • Salah & Lewandowski among high-profile absentees
  • Voting open for Men's 11 inclusion
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Inter Miami and Argentina hero Messi was left off the 30-man shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or, but he's made up for it by being included in the voting for both The Best FIFA Men's Player award and The Best FIFA Men's 11. He's joined among the candidates for the team honour by his eternal rival Ronaldo, who scored 50 goals last season for Al-Nassr.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    The nominees are divided into positional groups. Along with Messi and Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Viktor Gyokeres, and Spain duo Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams - who inspired La Roja to Euro 2024 glory - are included in the list for the attacking options. Salah and Lewandowski are both left out, however.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    In midfield, Real Madrid duo Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga will receive plenty of votes are helping Los Blancos to La Liga and Champions League glory. Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are standout defensive options, while Emiliano Martinez faces competition from Andriy Lunin, Unai Simon, Giorgi Mamardashvili, and others for the nod in goal.

  • THE BEST FIFA MEN'S 11 SHORTLIST IN FULL - ALL 77 PLAYERS

    Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ederson, Andriy Lunin, Mike Maignan, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Emiliano Martinez, David Raya, Unai Simon, Yann Sommer, Ronwen Williams

    Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Alessandro Bastoni, Gleison Bremer, Liberato Cacace, Dani Carvajal, Dante, Alphonso Davies, Ruben Dias, Federico Dimarco, Jeremie Frimpong, Alejandro Grimaldo, Achraf Hakimi, Mats Hummels, Alistair Johnston, Aymeric Laporte, Gabriel Magalhaes, Nicolas Otamendi, Nino, Antonio Rudiger, William Saliba, Jonathan Tah, William Troost-Ekong

    Midfielders: Luciano Acosta, Thiago Almada, Alex Baena, Jude Bellingham, Hakan Calhanoglu, Eduardo Camavinga, Phil Foden, Ganso, Toni Kroos, Takefusa Kubo, Fermin Lopez, Martin Odegaard, Dani Olmo, Cole Palmer, Christian Pulisic, Declan Rice, Rodri, James Rodriguez, Fabian Ruiz, Federico Valverde, Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka

    Forwards: Akram Afif, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, German Cano, Artem Dovbyk, Viktor Gyokeres, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Ademola Lookman, Lautaro Martinez, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Jamal Musiala, Soufiane Rahimi, Rodrygo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Salomon Rondon, Bukayo Saka, Luis Suarez, Vinicius Jr, Ollie Watkins, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal

  • The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 - ShowGetty Images Sport

    WHAT NEXT?

    Voting is now open on FIFA's website for the Men's 11, along with a host of other awards, with the ceremony set to take place in January.