FIFA have announced the official 10-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2018, and snubbed Brazil superstar Neymar, while one African is among the nominees.
Tired of reading? Click through the gallery above to see the 10 names on FIFA's shortlist.
Ronaldo was named The Best FIFA Men's Player in the past two years, with the award having been inaugurated in 2016 after FIFA and France Football decided to no longer work together to produce the FIFA Ballon d'Or prize.
The French publication and FIFA jointly handed out the prestigious Golden Ball between 2010 and 2016, but decided to go back to the old format of two separate best player awards.
Overall, Ronaldo and longstanding rival Messi have each lifted five FIFA awards for the world's best men's player, and the superstar duo are once again nominated, this time for the 2018 edition.
Last year's third-placed star Neymar was seemingly snubbed after missing three months of the 2017/18 season through injury.
Kylian Mbappe, who won the Young Player of the Tournament award at the recent 2018 FIFA World Cup, and Russia 2018 Golden Ball winner Luka Modric are also on the shortlist, and you can find the complete selection in our gallery above.
The shortlist was compiled by a panel of FIFA legends, including Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario, former England boss Fabio Capello and former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.
From the shortlist, four groups of the football community, namely journalists, fans, national team coaches and captains – each section having a weighting of 25% – will now be allowed to vote for their favourites. The voting period commences on 24 July and concludes at midnight (CET) on 10 August.
Read: 11 Nominees For The Best FIFA Men's Coach Announced
The final three nominees will be announced at a later date, and all award winners will be revealed at The Best FIFA Football Awards show in London on 24 September.
Who is your favourite to be named The Best FIFA Men's Player 2018? Have your say in the comments section below.
