Why Neymar was omitted from the 2018 Best FIFA Football Awards

by meziesblog.com, posted in Uncategorized

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Neymar was omitted among a 10-man list for the 2018 FIFA Best Footballer Award and his absence, though a huge surprise to many adoring fans, has been overshadowed by new additions to the big names.

Portugal international footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his Argentine rival Lionel Messi are largely familiar names on the list, including Kylian Mbappe, who won the Young Player Award at Russia 2018.

French World Cup winners – Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane – made the FIFA Best Men’s Award list together with Croatian superstar Luka Modric. Zinedine Zidane was selected for the Men’s Coach Award.

Ronaldo and Messi won the first two editions in 2016 and 2017.

Despite scoring 28 goals and recording 16 assists in 30 games for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2017/18 season, Neymar’s exclusion from the FIFA Men’s Award list was necessitated by a disappointing injury that forced him out competitions a few weeks before the World Cup. Brazil’s poor outing in Russia also contributed to his overall rating.

Luka Modric, the Croatian captain who was named Best Player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the break-out star, Kylian Mbappe, are expected to break the duopoly held by Messi and Ronaldo at this year’s prestigious football event.

Belgian duo of Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard are other big names in the list, including England striker Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah of Egypt.

Zlatko Dalic (Croatia), Gareth Southgate (England) and Roberto Martinez (Belgium) were also recognized for their remarkable achievements as managers of their respective national teams.

Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp is among the list of football managers contending for the 2018 Best Coach Award.

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