The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019: 3 deserving candidates who are missing from the 10-man shortlist

Modified Aug 01, 2019 04:35 GMT

Bernardo Silva was brilliant for club and country last season, but failed to make it to FIFA's final 10

#2 Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling was one of the most feared attackers in the league but failed to enter FIFA's final 10

The Englishman was one of the driving forces in the Manchester City team as Pep Guardiola's side made history by winning the domestic treble.

Raheem Sterling was instrumental as City saw off a fantastic title challenge from Liverpool, winning the title on the final day of the season.

On the field, Sterling's versatility was used amicably by his manager, as the Englishman seamlessly slotted into varied attacking positions.

Sterling was menacing through left, right and center and his trickery gave the opposition nightmares on the field. He was also a constant goal threat last season, managing 25 goals and 12 assists from 48 games in all competitions.

The Englishman was the deserved winner of the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the year as well as the Football Writers' Association Player of the year.

He was also one of the players of the season in the league, however, it seems that was not enough for him to break into the final 10 shortlist for the FIFA's Best Men's Player for 2019.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Alan John