The Portuguese superstar will not be making a podium appearance for the second year running.

For the second year running, there will be no podium finish for Cristiano Ronaldo following FIFA’s revelation of the final nominees for the upcoming Best FIFA Awards. Nemesis Lionel Messi, however, is among the top three players listed in the men’s category, and is set to share the stage with French duo Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema.

Having won the maiden Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award in 2016 and the one that immediately followed, Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to get to the top to reclaim the throne once more. With five Ballon d’Ors to his name as well, the career of the 38-year-old has taken a detour and the usual expectations on the player have equally dwindled. This development is as a result of his move to Al Nassr following the conclusion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Last week, FIFA confirmed that voting had been closed for the individuals shortlisted for the eight award categories including the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year. On Friday, the names of the top three in each category was revealed by the world football governing body but, as widely anticipated, it did not feature Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead, for the fourth year in a row, Lionel Messi will get to compete for the gong.

The Argentine was instrumental in his nation’s triumphant quest at the World Cup in Qatar and has been tipped to give Karim Benzema a tough contest despite the Frenchman also having an excellent year. Kylian Mbappe joins the pair on the podium for his contributions to Paris Saint-Germain as well as the French national team in their run-in to the final of the mundial.

Below is the full list of the nominees and finalists. The winners of all the categories will be announced at the awards gala slated for February 27, 2023.

Al-Nassr boss makes Cristiano Ronaldo U-turn after milestone performance

Featured Image Credit: Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo made history on Thursday night when he scored four goals in one match, prompting his manager to back-track on comments made since the star moved to Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo left Manchester United before the start of the 2022 World Cup after a public falling-out with Erik ten Hag, and in January joined Saudi outfit Al-Nassr as a free agent.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now the highest-paid player in the history of the game, and on Thursday he scored a quadruple that took his career league goal tally to 503. Only Pele (604), Romario (544), Josef Bican (518) and Ferenc Puskas (514) sit higher on the all-time list.

However, that doesn’t mean his start to life at his new club has been entirely plain sailing.

After drawing a blank on his debut last month, Ronaldo scored an injury-time equaliser in his side’s 2-2 draw with El-Fateh. However, that wasn’t enough to satisfy Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia.

In recent weeks the former Lyon manager has publicly voiced concerns about how Ronaldo fits into his team, something that has not gone down well with the club’s fanbase.

“It is very important that the players play normally and don’t always try to give Cristiano the ball,” Garcia said after his side lost to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup last month.

“I told them they had to make the right decisions on the pitch.

“Obviously, when Cristiano or Anderson Talisca are alone and ask for the ball, we have to give them the ball. These two players are capable of making a difference. We have to work on it, have one of them in the area and maybe the other will play outside the area.

However, after Ronaldo’s four-goal performance on Thursday, Garcia struck a rather different and altogether more positive tone.

“Ronaldo has reached a great stage of homogeneity and harmony with his teammates,” he said.

“Over time, his teammates realized what he wanted and when he will score. I think it was a good night for Cristiano Ronaldo because he scored four goals.”

Source: livesoccertv.com