BEST FIFA MEN'S PLAYER 2016
Best FIFA Men's Player 2016: Ten LaLiga footballers on shortlist
World football's governing body has confirmed its 23-man list of nominees for the accolade, created to replace the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
FIFA on Friday announced the male shortlist for its new world player of the year award, which will be presented in Zurich in early 2017.
LaLiga well represented on 23-man list
The 23 contenders to be crowned The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 feature ten footballers from LaLiga, including Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Barcelona's Leo Messi and Atlético Madrid's Antoine Griezmann.
Also among the Spanish league's nominees are Real's Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos, and Barça's Neymar, Andrés Iniesta and Luis Suárez.
No room for Real's Benzema
Madrid striker Karim Benzema is a notable absentee from the list of candidates.
Final three confirmed on 2 December
The process for selecting the Best Men's Player will see the votes of the captains and coaches of the globe's national teams constitute 50% of the result, with an online public poll and the choices of 200 journalists making up the other half.
Voting remains open until 22 November, with the final three nominees to be named on 2 December.
The award has been created by world football's governing body to replace the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which ran from 2010 to 2015.
The Best FIFA Football Awards
The winner will be revealed at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on 9 January, along with the recipients of prizes including the Puskas Award, The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, The Best FIFA Men’s Coach and The Best FIFA Women’s Player.
Nominees (in alphabetical order):
Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City)
Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid)
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (BelgiumManchester City)
Antoine Griezmann (France/Atlético Madrid)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United)
Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona)
N’Golo Kanté (France/Leicester City/Chelsea)
Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich)
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Leicester City)
Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona)
Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid)
Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich)
Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona),
Mesut Özil (Germany/Arsenal)
Dimitri Payet (France/West Ham United)
Paul Pogba (France/Juventus/Manchester United)
Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid)
Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal)
Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona)
Jamie Vardy (England/Leicester City).