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The Best FIFA Men's Player Award along with the Ballon d'Or award is one of the most prestigious individual prizes given in the footballing world every year. Robert Lewandowski deservingly won the award last year, but this year there could be a close fight right to the finish.
The Best FIFA Men's Player Award has a unique voting system to decide the winner
While the Ballon d'Or award is decided by a select group of sports journalists across the globe chosen by French Football, the Best FIFA Men's Player Award is chosen by votes from 4 major groups.
National Team coaches, National Team captains, Media representatives from each country, and fans from across the world each get a 25% weightage in deciding the winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski have all won this award since it was introduced in this new format in 2016. Without further ado, let's take a look at the 5 favorites for the Best FIFA Men's Player of the year Award in 2021.
#5 N'Golo Kante - France/Chelsea
N'Golo Kante was the favorite to win the Best FIFA Men's Player Award and the Ballon d'Or award after Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League. However, France's early exit from Euro 2020 has seen him drop down the list.
One of the best defensive midfielders to ever play the game, Kante's all-action midfield game played a huge role in Chelsea's incredible performance under Thomas Tuchel last season.
Brilliant at intercepting the ball and starting off Chelsea's attack, Kante has struggled with some niggling injuries lately and will be hoping to return to full fitness in the coming weeks.
France's early exit and the format of the Best FIFA Men's Player Award selection could see the Chelsea midfielder miss out on the top 3 places.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal/Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo has once again had a phenomenal individual goalscoring year. The Portuguese superstar recently became the highest scorer in men's international football and is showing no signs of slowing down despite being 36-years-old.
Although Portugal crashed out of Euro 2020 in the Round of 16, Ronaldo still managed to win the Golden Boot. However, winning the Best FIFA Men's Player Award might be a bit difficult this season for the great man as he has no major team honors to back up his individual success (apart from a Coppa Italia triumph).
Having secured a high profile transfer to Manchester United, Ronaldo will be determined to inspire Manchester United to a trophy this season.
The Portuguese superstar always receives a lot of votes from fans and that puts him in with a good chance of finishing in the top 5.
#3 Robert Lewandowski - Poland/Bayern Munich
Winner of The Best FIFA Men's Player Award in 2020, Robert Lewandowski has had another phenomenal year. The Bayern Munich striker is arguably the best player in world football at the moment, but a lack of major international trophies might see him just miss out on the top 2 spots.
The Polish superstar did win the Bundesliga last season and even broke Gerd Muller's long-standing scoring record, but the achievements of Jorginho and Lionel Messi with their national teams could influence voting.
Although he might not win the top prize this year, Robert Lewandowski certainly deserves to be in the top 3 of the Best FIFA Men's Player Award in 2021.
#2 Jorginho - Italy/Chelsea
After winning the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award, Jorginho is a serious and a very realistic contender for both the Ballon d'Or award and The Best FIFA Men's Player Award.
While the Chelsea star might not be the most flashy player in the world, no one has won more than Jorginho this year. A deep-lying playmaker, Jorginho's unique capabilities have helped both Chelsea and Italy to great success in 2021.
Jorginho has had to face a lot of criticism over the last few seasons, but his trophies and performances in 2021 have provided the right retort to his critics.
National team captains and coaches give a lot of importance to trophies and Jorginho could well end up even winning The Best FIFA Men's Player Award in 2021.
#1 Lionel Messi - Argentina/PSG
What an eventful few months it has been for Lionel Messi! After finally breaking his international trophy drought with Argentina, Messi then had to leave his childhood club Barcelona to join PSG.
Lionel Messi has been at his brilliant best in 2021. Not only did he win La Liga's Golden Boot with Barcelona, he was also the best player in Copa America 2021 playing a starring role in Argentina's historic triumph.
One thing that might go against Messi is his lack of club trophies in 2021. Jorginho has definitely won more than him this year and it will be interesting to see how the voting pans out in the race to win the Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award.
Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho and Lionel Messi are currently the frontrunners to win the award. Lewandowski and Jorginho have already started the season well and the race for FIFA Best Men's Player Award is set to go right down to the wire.
