Football
ESPN staff 7y

Cristiano Ronaldo leads nominations for 2017 Best FIFA Men's Player award

Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping to be named Best FIFA Men's Player for the second year running after being included among the nominations for the 2017 award.

Real Madrid star Ronaldo, who won the inaugural award last year, is one of 24 players to have been nominated for the accolade.

The award, which covers the period of Nov. 20, 2016, to July 2, 2017, is voted for by national team coaches, captains, selected media and fans and will be handed out at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on Oct. 23 in London.

Ronaldo's nomination comes after a year that saw him help Madrid to a third Champions League crown in four seasons and a first La Liga title in five years, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.

Ronaldo scored twice as Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final, while also finishing top scorer in the competition with 12 goals.

Ronaldo faces competition from long-time rival Lionel Messi, who finished up as La Liga's top scorer with 37 goals -- 12 ahead of Ronaldo -- and helped Barcelona to Copa del Rey success in what was a largely disappointing season for the club.

Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon will also be vying for the award after guiding his club to a Serie A and Coppa Italia double as well as a place in the Champions League final.

Madrid dominate the list of nominees given their successful 2016-17 campaign, boasting seven players in total. Alongside Ronaldo sits Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Dani Carvajal and Keylor Navas.

Barcelona are next in line with four nominees, with Neymar -- now of Paris Saint-Germain -- Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta joining Messi on the list.

The Best FIFA Women's Player award will also be handed out on the same night, with 2016 winner Carli Lloyd named among the 10 nominees, while Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is the leading contender to win the Best FIFA Men's Coach award.

Full list of Best FIFA Men's Player nominations:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund, Gabon)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/AC Milan, Italy)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy)
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
Paulo Dybala (Juventus, Argentina)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid, France)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain)
Harry Kane, (Tottenham, England)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Keylor Navas (Real Madrid, Costa Rica)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Neymar (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain)
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal, Chile)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona, Uruguay)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich, Chile)

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