The final three candidates for The Best FIFA Men’s Player have been exposed. Following a long process of voting – split evenly between fans, national team captains, national team coaches and journalists. A panel of FIFA Legends has been shortlisted to three from ten. One of them will be awarded on 24 September to receive this famous award. It will reveal in London which player it is.

For the men's best player awards this year, the top three finalists include Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah. 

FIFA top three players of the year 2018

Cristiano Ronaldo

• Won the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid

• Champion League’s (2017/18 ) top scorer (15)

• Won FIFA Club World Cup UAE 

Luka Modric

• Captained Croatia to their first ever FIFA World Cup Final

• Won the adidas Golden Ball at Russia 2018

• Helped Real Madrid win Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup

Mohamed Salah

• Helped Liverpool to UEFA Champions League final

• 32 goals during English Premier League campaign, setting a new scoring record

• Joint-second in 2017/18 Champions League scoring chart

Croatia midfielder Modric earns his place in the final three nominations for his performances as the Balkan nation reached the final of the World Cup for the first time in their history. Modric won UEFA's award for best player of the year last season. Ronaldo and Modric both helped Real Madrid to Champions League glory prior to the former's move to Juventus, with Salah scoring an incredible 44 goals in all competitions for Liverpool.

That means that there's no place in the final three for Barcelona sensation Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi omitted from 2018 Fifa's men's player of the year award shortlist after 11 years in top three. He was part of the initial top 10 nominees, with Kevin De Bruyne, Raphael Varane, Antoine Greizmann, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe joining him in failing to make the cut. Lionel Messi achieved these award five times in his career in the year of 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.

Lionel Messi