Fifa Best Player 2016: Ronaldo, Messi, 21 Others Make Shortlist

SAN FRANCISCO, November 04, (THEWILL) – Soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been named along with 21 other footballers for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award.

Top names on the list include Ronaldo's Real Madrid teammates Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric, plus Barcelona's Luis Suarez, Neymar and Andres Iniesta.

Also listed were three members of Leicester City's EPL title-winning squad namely Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante, who has since joined Chelsea.

Atletico Madrid and France forward Antoine Griezmann, a finalist in the Champions League and European Championship, is another contender, along with international teammate Dimitri Payet.

FIFA announced that the awards will be decided by a combination of votes from national coaches and captains, journalists and fans as the 23-man list is due to be reduced to three candidates on Dec. 2 ahead of the Jan. 9 ceremony.

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated FIFA's annual award, formerly known as the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year, since 2008. Messi has won five times and Ronaldo three.

The Full List:
Sergio Aguero
Gareth Bale
Gianluigi Buffon
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kevin De Bruyne
Antoine Griezmann
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Andres Iniesta
N'Golo Kante
Toni Kroos
Robert Lewandowski
Riyad Mahrez
Lionel Messi
Luka Modric
Manuel Neuer
Neymar
Mesut Ozil
Dimitri Payet
Paul Pogba
Sergio Ramos
Alexis Sanchez
Luis Suarez
Jamie Vardy
Story by Oputah David