Three of football’s biggest names will be battling it out to win the biggest prize at the FIFA The Best Awards this evening – although there is one very notable absentee.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski will be aiming to win for a second year running, with Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah making up the three-man shortlist.
That does of course mean there’s no room for Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Manchester United ace left out of the running for the first time since the award’s inception in 2016.
The award is voted for by the captain and manager of each recognised FIFA nation – as well as a media representative – and as skippers of their respective countries, Ronaldo and Messi have a big say in who will take home the award this evening.
Of course, as with any award, they can’t vote for themselves, and their choices for the 2020 prize revealed a lot about their long-standing rivalry.
Lewandowski beat the pair to the award at the last ceremony, with the Polish striker claiming 52 votes, while Ronaldo finished second with 38 with Messi three behind him in third.
Interestingly, Ronaldo actually helped both of his rivals, with the United star putting Lewandowski as his first choice, with Messi second while Kylian Mbappe was third.
The gesture was not reciprocated though, with Messi picking Neymar and Mbappe as his first and second choice respectively, with Lewandowski third.
Meanwhile, the eventual winner snubbed both Ronaldo and Messi, instead voting for former Bayern team-mate Thiago Alcantara as his first choice.
Ronaldo’s vote though does show a lot about the respect he holds for his great rival, despite the pair having been in constant competition with each other for nearly two decades.
The Portuguese even offered an olive branch to Messi back in 2019 as he invited the Argentine star to dinner.
"We have shared the stage 15 years. I don't know if that's happened before - the same two guys on the same stage all the time," Ronaldo said.
"Of course, we have a good relationship. We haven't had dinner together yet, but I hope in the future. We had that battle in Spain. I pushed him and he pushed me as well. So it's good to be part of the history of football."
And Messi would go on to accept the invite, saying: "Yes, I don't have any problem with that. We might not be friends because we've never shared a dressing room together but I always see him at award shows and there's no problem.
"I don't know if there will be a dinner because I don't know if our paths will cross for obvious reasons, each one of us has our own life and our own commitments. But obviously, I would accept the invitation."
Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.
