Messi is also available
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Florian Wirtz and Toni Kroos have been nominated for World Footballer of the Year. The 21-year-old Wirtz from Leverkusen and the 34-year-old Kroos, who ended his successful career in the summer after the home European Championship, are on the shortlist along with nine other professionals for the award from the world association FIFA. The lineup is dominated by professionals working for Real Madrid.
The world footballer is chosen by the national coaches, the captains of the national teams, journalists and fans worldwide. Voting takes place until December 10th, 11:59 p.m. It is unclear when the prize will be presented; the most recent date was in January. Wirtz and Kroos are not among the big favorites. To date, the only German FIFA world footballer was Lothar Matthäus in 1991. According to the regulations, the performances shown by the players from August 21, 2023 to August 10, 2024 were taken into account for the pre-selection by a committee of experts.
Also nominated are the Spanish European champions Rodri, who has already won the Ballon d’Or, Dani Carvajal and Lamine Yamal, as well as record winner and defending champion Lionel Messi. The Brazilian Vinícius Júnior from Real Madrid is also on the list – his defeat in the Ballon d’Or election against Rodri caused enormous anger among the royal team. The selection is completed by Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.
When it comes to female soccer players, there are no German players on the list of the best 16 professionals, but national goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger can have hopes of being named World Goalkeeper of the Year. When choosing the best coach of a men’s team, Leverkusen’s double winner Xabi Alonso is on the list, as are Pep Guardiola (Man City), Carlo Ancelotti (Real), Luis de la Fuente (Spain) and Lionel Scaloni (Argentina).
