Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are among the 10 Premier League representatives named in the shortlist for FIFA’s player of the year award.
Sanchez and Ozil, who were both shock omissions from the Ballon d’Or nominees list, have been nominated for the best FIFA men’s player 2016 accolade.
Jamie Vardy is the only Englishman to be named in the shortlist and the striker is joined by N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez; the trio all played a part in Leicester’s stunning Premier League title triumph last season. Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne , Paul Pogba Zlatan Ibrahimovic and West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet, who enjoyed a sensational debut campaign with the club, is another Premier League name on the list.
There are some familiar faces playing their football abroad too, with Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric among five Real Madrid players in the list. Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, along with club team-mate Andres Iniesta, are also in the running for the accolade.
The votes of the captains and head coaches of all of the world’s national teams will make up 50 per cent of the result. The other half is split between an online public ballot and votes from more than 200 media representatives around the world.
