Antoine Griezmann may have missed out on making the final shortlist for the Best Fifa Men’s Player Award but his club manager believes the French forward is the world’s No. 1 footballer of the past 12 months.
Griezmann has won the Europa League and Uefa Super Cup, and finished second in La Liga, with Atletico Madrid. He also won the biggest prize of all, the Fifa World Cup, with the French national team this summer.
So Atletico boss Diego Simeone was disappointed not to see Griezmann’s name on the best player shortlist. Simeone told Spanish radio station Cope: “Griezmann is world champion, European Super Cup champion and Europa League champion.
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“He has finished second in the Spanish League, where we play Real Madrid and Barcelona, who between them are continually winning the Champions League, and he was the best player in the World Cup final.
“Griezmann in this last year was the best in the world. It’s a shame that he’s not among the finalist [for the Best Fifa award]. The truth is that I feel sorry for the boy, it makes you feel a little disappointed.”
However, Griezmann is on the 55-player shortlist for the Fifa FIFPro world XI. The forward is one seven French World Cup winners on the list - featuring alongside N’Golo Kante, Kylian Mbappe, Benjamin Pavard, Paul Pogba, Samuel Umtiti and Raphael Varane.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric are on the final three-man shortlist for The Best Fifa Men’s Player award. The winner will be announced at the Best Fifa Football Awards, on 24 September in London.
World XI: who is on the shortlist?
A total of 55 players have been selected for the Fifa FIFPro world XI. The final team will be revealed at the Best Fifa Football Awards.
According to Fifa, the world XI votes are based on the players’ performances between 3 July 2017 and 15 July 2018.
FIFPro, the worldwide players’ union, said that 25,000 footballers in 65 countries selected their XI. The players who received the most votes are on the list of 55.
Goalkeepers (five)
- Gianluigi Buffon: Italy, Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain
- Thibaut Courtois: Belgium, Chelsea/Real Madrid CF
- David De Gea: Spain, Manchester United FC
- Keylor Navas: Costa Rica, Real Madrid CF
- Marc-Andre ter Stegen: Germany, FC Barcelona
Defenders (20)
- Jordi Alba: Spain, FC Barcelona
- Dani Alves: Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
- Daniel Carvajal: Spain, Real Madrid CF
- Giorgio Chiellini: Italy, Juventus FC
- Virgil van Dijk: The Netherlands, Southampton/Liverpool
- Diego Godin: Uruguay, Atletico Madrid
- Mats Hummels: Germany, FC Bayern Munchen
- Joshua Kimmich: Germany, FC Bayern Munchen
- Dejan Lovren: Croatia, Liverpool FC
- Marcelo: Brazil, Real Madrid CF
- Yerry Mina: Colombia, FC Barcelona/Everton FC
- Benjamin Pavard: France, VfB Stuttgart
- Gerard Pique: Spain, FC Barcelona
- Sergio Ramos: Spain, Real Madrid CF
- Thiago Silva: Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
- Kieran Trippier: England, Tottenham Hotspur
- Samuel Umtiti: France, FC Barcelona
- Raphaël Varane: France, Real Madrid CF
- Sime Vrsaljko: Croatia, Atletico Madrid/Inter
- Kyle Walker: England, Manchester City FC
Midfielders (15)
- Sergio Busquets: Spain, FC Barcelona
- Casemiro: Brazil, Real Madrid CF
- Philippe Coutinho: Brazil, Liverpool/FC Barcelona
- Kevin De Bruyne: Belgium, Manchester City FC
- Eden Hazard: Belgium, Chelsea FC
- Andres Iniesta: Spain, FC Barcelona/Vissel Kobe
- Isco: Spain, Real Madrid CF
- N’Golo Kante: France, Chelsea FC
- Toni Kroos: Germany, Real Madrid CF
- Nemanja Matic: Serbia, Manchester United FC
- Luka Modric: Croatia, Real Madrid CF
- Paul Pogba: France, Manchester United FC
- Ivan Rakitic: Croatia, FC Barcelona
- David Silva: Spain, Manchester City FC
- Arturo Vidal: Chile, FC Bayern Munchen/FC Barcelona
Forwards (15)
- Karim Benzema: France, Real Madrid CF
- Edinson Cavani: Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain
- Paulo Dybala: Juventus FC, Argentina
- Antoine Griezmann: France, Atletico Madrid
- Harry Kane: England, Tottenham Hotspur
- Robert Lewandowski: Poland, FC Bayern Munchen
- Romelu Lukaku: Belgium, Manchester United FC
- Mario Mandzukic: Croatia, Juventus FC
- Sadio Mane: Senegal, Liverpool FC
- Kylian Mbappe: France, Paris Saint-Germain
- Lionel Messi: Argentina, FC Barcelona
- Neymar Junior: Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain
- Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal, Real Madrid CF/Juventus FC
- Mohamed Salah: Egypt, Liverpool FC
- Luis Suarez: Uruguay, FC Barcelona
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