Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk are the final three in the running to win The Best FIFA Men’s Player award 2019.
Unlike the Ballon d’Or, which judges performance over the course of a calendar year, this prize is awarded to the outstanding contributor over the running of a season, with FIFA defining the dates from July 16, 2018 until July 19, 2019 inclusive.
Luka Modric won the title for the 2018-19 season but did not made the 10-man shortlist, which was whittled down to three on September 2, this time around.
The final judgement is just around the corner, but who will succeed the Real Madrid midfielder to be named the star player of the 2018-19 season and when will it all be revealed?
When & where will the 2019 Best FIFA Football awards be held?
FIFA announced in February that The Best FIFA Awards 2019 will take place at the iconic Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy on September 23 .
The event will start from 6.30pm BST / 1:30pm ET with the green carpet arrivals. The ceremony then begins around 7.30pm BST / 2:30pm ET in the UK.
It will be the fourth time the prizes have been presented under this branding.
Unlike the Ballon d’Or, they are also more mobile in terms of where they are presented. In 2018, Idris Elba hosted the awards at the Royal Festival Hall, London, and though a year earlier they also took place in the UK capital, they were previously hosted in Zurich.
Aside from the Best FIFA Men’s Player, there are also awards for the Best FIFA Women’s Player, the Best Coaches, both male and female, and the ever-popular Puskas Award, which honours the most beautiful goal scored in world football.
How to stream the 2019 Best FIFA Football awards
The 2019 Best FIFA awards ceremony will be available to watch live from FIFA.com, and FIFA TV on YouTube with updates on the Best FIFA Football Awards Facebook page.
In the UK, Sky Sports showcased the ceremony last year on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK.
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How are the awards decided?
In late July, the nominees for the leading awards – Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Players, and The Best FIFA Male and Female Coaches – were announced, having been decided by a group of FIFA Legends.
From there, a jury consisting of national team captains, national coaches, members of the media and football fans, who are each weighted to have a 25 per cent say, voted on the winners.
Who is nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Players?
The candidates for the Best FIFA Men's and Women's Player awards have been reduced to three in each category.
For the Men's award, they are: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
For the Women's award, they are: Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride) and Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC).
The initial candidates for The Best FIFA Men’s Player were: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Barcelona), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax/Juventus), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Real Madrid), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
The initial candidates for The Best FIFA Women’s Player were: Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Caroline Graham Hansen (Wolfsburg/Barcelona), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Amandine Henry (Lyon), Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Ellen White (Birmingham City/Manchester City).