Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland vying for Best Fifa Men's Player award

PARIS - Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati were named as finalists for Fifa's best player awards by world football's governing body on Dec 14.

Messi was awarded a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or crown in October in Paris, while Bonmati took the women's prize after starring for Spain in their Women's World Cup triumph.

Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are the other nominees for the Best Fifa Men's Player award, with Bonmati's Spain teammate Jennifer Hermoso and Colombian teenage sensation Linda Caicedo also named on the women's shortlist.

The awards ceremony will take place in London on Jan 15.

The men's finalists were named based on performances from Dec 19, 2022 until Aug 20, 2023, with the women's decided by achievements between Aug 1, 2022, and Aug 20, 2023, the day of the World Cup final.

Messi won his second Best Fifa Men's Player trophy in 2022 - which was awarded in February - after captaining and helping Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar on Dec 18.

That historic win has made such an impact that a set of six shirts worn by the Argentinian star during the tournament were sold for US$7.8 million (S$10.4 million) at an auction in New York on Dec 14.

Auction house Sotheby's said the price for the set shattered the previous record for the sale of an item associated with the player, making it the most valuable sporting memorabilia auctioned in 2023.

The collection included the shirt Messi wore during the first half of the final against France in Qatar.

"These historic shirts are not only a tangible reminder of one of the most important moments in the history of sports but are principally connected to the pinnacle moment in the career of the most decorated football player in history," Sotheby's head of modern collectables Brahm Wachter said.

Michael Jordan's jersey from the opening game of the 1998 NBA Finals holds the record for the highest price paid for a game-worn sports memorabilia item, fetching US$10.1 million in 2022.

Messi's achievements are impressive, but Haaland, who finished second to the Argentinian in the Ballon d'Or voting, scored 52 goals in his first season at Manchester City last term to help the English club to a treble of English Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles.

France striker Mbappe scored 41 goals in all club competitions to help Paris Saint-Germain win Ligue 1.

Bonmati and Hermoso both scored three goals as Spain lifted the Women's World Cup for the first time, while the former also won the Women's Champions League with Barcelona last season.

Hermoso was forcibly kissed by then Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales following Spain's 1-0 final win over England, sparking a huge controversy and his eventual resignation.

Caicedo, 18, signed for Real Madrid in 2023 before starring in Colombia's run to the World Cup quarter-finals. - AFP, REUTERS