The nominations for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player of the Year award were announced this week.To the surprise of the majority of people who follow football, Lionel Messi was excluded from the top three.Instead, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric were nominated for the main prize.Salah enjoyed a wonderful debut season at Liverpool, scoring 44 goals in all competitions and reaching the Champions League final.It was Ronaldo and Modric who triumphed in that final though, the duo celebrating their third-straight European title.Modric also led Croatia to the final of the World Cup in what was an excellent period for the playmaker.The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on September 24.

Kroos responds to The Best question

During a Twitter Q&A on Tuesday evening, Real midfielder Toni Kroos was asked to name the player he thought would win the prize.

“Mo Salah, Ronaldo, Modric.. choose one to be The Best?,” the German was asked by Twitter user @Amroon.

Kroos didn’t name any of the three players, though, instead asking why he couldn’t name himself as the best.

“I’m out???,” he asked in bemusement.

So cheeky.

Kroos was, of course, a part of the Real Madrid side that overcame Liverpool in Kiev.

But any chance he had of being nominated for the prize vanished at the World Cup.

Germany were abysmal, exiting the tournament at the group stage. Every single Germany player could say goodbye to any chance of an individual accolade after that.

Modric has already claimed the UEFA Player of the Year award this year and Peter Schmeichel believes he deserves The Best award too.

“Luka Modric was so incredibly good in every department of how you have to judge a good player," Schmeichel told CNN Sport.

Nobody has been able to beat Ronaldo to the award since its inception in 2016, but Modric stands a great chance.