Ronaldo nominated for FIFA player award
AFP
AFP, PARIS: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo leads the nominees unveiled on Thursday for the Best FIFA Mens Player 2017 award.
The 32-year-old Portuguese captain is favourite to retain the title he won last year after success in both the Champions League and La Liga.
Among the 24 mens nominees are Ronaldos Real Madrid teammates Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Keylor Navas and Sergio Ramos.
The list also includes Barcelona rivals Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, as well as Paris Saint-Germains record signing Neymar.
Champions League finalists with Juventus, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and teammate Paulo Dybala are also in the running, alongside former Juventus player Leonardo Bonucci, who has since signed for AC Milan.
The other nominees include Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atltico Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Tottenham), NGolo Kante (Chelsea), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) and Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich).
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane heads the list of 12 nominees for the mens coach of the year award.
Other candidates include Antonio Conte, who led Chelsea to the English title, Manchester Uniteds Europa League-winning coach Jose Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus.
Zidane has enjoyed a glorious year in charge of Madrid as they successfully defended the European Cup -- the first team to do so in the Champions League era.
