Ronaldo is Missing From FIFA Award List, Led By Messi and Mbappé

Cristiano Ronaldo was left off the 14-player shortlist for the annual Best FIFA Men’s Player award for the first time Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé among those selected

Ronaldo, who was released by Manchester United and benched by Portugal during the World Cup, won the FIFA award the first two times it was handed out

This was the first time he was not even selected as a contender by a FIFA-appointed expert panel

The award was rebranded in 2016 following a six-year period where the former FIFA World Player of the Year Award had merged with the annual Ballon dOr

Ronaldo finished seventh in the voting last year, when Robert Lewandowski won for the second time in a row ahead of Messi and Mohamed Salah

The 37-year-old Portuguese star joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr last month, seemingly marking the end of his European club career

Aside from Messi, the only member of Argentina’s World Cup-winning team to make the list of nominees is forward Julián Álvarez