Barcelona to end Fifa Best awards snub and attend London ceremony
Lionel Messi heads to London to battle Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar for the top prize
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Though Barcelona players snubbed the first ever Best Fifa Football Awards earlier this year, they will attend the event tonight in London.
The ceremony – the second since the award split from France Football’s Ballon d’Or - will dish out prestigious prizes at the London Palladium for best player, coach and goalkeeper for both men and women, as well as the Puskás Award for best goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the current holder of the Best Men’s Player Award, took a swipe at Barcelona players who chose not to attend the awards due to their fixture schedule after winning the prize in January.
Scoring five goals over two legs in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich is just one glory to pick on in another fine year for the Portuguese forward. He will be hoping to beat Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi and the most expensive player in the world, Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, to the top spot.
If Ronaldo wins tonight as he is expected to, this time round his main rival Messi will watch on. The turmoil over Catalonian independence that rages outside Camp Nou has not infiltrated the Argentinian’s composed, disciplined performance on the pitch, not to mention his 15 goals this season and his 50 so far in 2017.
Stars from the Premier League will be expected to make a strong case in other categories. Antonio Conte is hoping his compelling Premier League title win will outshine Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane. This is unlikely, though – given Zidane did the remarkable, both retaining the Champions League trophy and guiding Real to win the league for only the second time since 2008.
Olivier Giroud’s stunning scorpion kick against Crystal Palace is shortlisted for the Puskás Award, alongside goals from South African goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke and Venezuela’s Deyna Catellanos.
Catellanos is also nominated for the women’s player of the year award, battling against the United States’ Carli Lloyd and Holland’s Lieke Martens.
The winners are decided by a jury of coaches, media and fans.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments