Two expert panels – one for women’s football and one for men’s football – selected the candidates for each category.
The nominees are listed below in alphabetical order:
The Best FIFA Women’s Player: *
- Stina Blackstenius (Sweden / BK Häcken)
- Aitana Bonmatí (Spain / FC Barcelona)
- Lucy Bronze (England / Manchester City WFC)
- Magdalena Eriksson (Sweden / Chelsea FC Women)
- Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / FC Barcelona)
- Pernille Harder (Denmark / Chelsea FC Women)
- Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / FC Barcelona)
- Ji Soyun (Korea Republic / Chelsea FC Women)
- Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women)
- Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC)
- Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona)
- Christine Sinclair (Canada / Portland Thorns FC)
- Ellen White (England / Manchester City WFC)
The Best FIFA Men’s Player:
- Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus FC / Manchester United FC)
- Erling Haaland (Norway / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund)
- Jorginho (Italy / Chelsea FC)
- N’Golo Kanté (France / Chelsea FC)
- Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München)
- Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC)
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
- Lluís Cortés (Spain / FC Barcelona)
- Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden / Swedish national team)
- Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
- Beverly Priestman (England / Canadian national team)
- Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team / English national team)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: *
- Antonio Conte (Italy / FC Internazionale Milano / Tottenham Hotspur FC)
- Hansi Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München / German national team)
- Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC)
- Roberto Mancini (Italy / Italian national team)
- Lionel Sebastián Scaloni (Argentina / Argentinian national team)
- Diego Simeone (Argentina / Atlético de Madrid)
- Thomas Tuchel (Germany / Chelsea FC)
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper:
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
- Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain / Olympique Lyonnais)
- Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé (Canada / FC Rosengård / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden / Atlético de Madrid Femenino)
- Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
- Alisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy / AC Milan / Paris Saint-Germain)
- Édouard Mendy (Senegal / Chelsea FC)
- Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
- Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark / Leicester City FC)
* These shortlists contain more candidates, in accordance with article 5 of the Rules of Allocation .
Note: the shortlist with the nominees for the FIFA Puskás Award (awarded for the best goal) will be announced at a later stage.
Voting open now!
Public voting is open on FIFA.com and will run until 23:59 CET on 10 December 2021.
FIFA will announce the three finalists in each of the seven categories listed above in early January 2022.
The full voting and award process is detailed in the Rules of Allocation.
To keep up with the latest news about The Best, check out FIFA.com and FIFA’s accounts on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
You can join the discussion about who should win the awards by using the hashtag #TheBest .