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Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar - who should win FIFA Best award?

La Liga fixtures
Image: La Liga fixtures

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are up for the top honour at The Best FIFA Awards – here’s all you need to know.

Fifa introduced the 'Best Football Awards' last season after splitting with France Football magazine, which meant they had to end their association with the Ballon d'Or award.

The winner will be decided by a jury of club and international coaches, media representatives and fans with the winner crowned at the London Palladium on October 23.

Real Madrid and Portugal's forward and winner of The Best FIFA Mens Player of 2016 Award Cristiano Ronaldo (L) poses on stage with his trophy next to Real
Image: Ronaldo won the inaugural award last year

Along with the main men's award, the main individual award categories are: Men's Player, Women's Player, Men's Coach, Women's Coach and Goalkeeper. There are also the Fair Play, Fan and Puskas - for the best goal of the year - awards, as well as the FIFPro World XI.

Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to a second consecutive Champions League title and finished as the tournament's top scorer with 12 goals earlier this year while Messi and Neymar claimed the Copa del Rey with Barcelona with the former finishing as La Liga's top scorer with 37 goals last season.

But which one will land the big prize? We assess their claims....

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring Real Madrid's first goal during the UEFA Champions League group H match against APOEL

Ronaldo won the inaugural award last year and is a favourite to defend his crown.

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Ronaldo was at the forefront of Real Madrid's dominance as they regained their tag as the premier club in world football with a Champions League and La Liga title victory.

Despite his advancing years, Ronaldo, arguably, produced the best season of his illustrious career. Zinedine Zidane's decision in helping remodel Ronaldo's game from creating chaos in an all-action role to a deadly finisher was vindicated with a whopping return of 55 goals across all competitions.

The Portugal captain scored twice as Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final, while also finishing top scorer in the competition with 12 goals. This included scoring five times over a two-legged quarter-final win over Bayern Munich and three goals in the semi-finals against Atletico Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo

He remains the man for the big occasion.

Lionel Messi

MESSI

Major trophies were in short supply for the Argentinian great as Barcelona struggled to live with Real Madrid's ruthless streak, yet Messi still amassed some incredible numbers both in terms of his goal ratio and influence on the team.

Messi finished as La Liga's top scorer with 37 goals - 12 ahead of Ronaldo. At times he single-handedly rescued his team from sticky situations, which ultimately help keep the La Liga title race in the balance until the final day despite Real Madrid's clear edge over their rivals.

Nominees vital statistics (all comps 2017)

Player Goals Assists Chances created
Ronaldo 32 6 44
Messi 45 11 96
Neymar 22 15 110

Messi's impact at international level also merits significant praise. He netted a total of seven goals in 10 qualifying games for Argentina, including a memorable hat-trick in Ecuador in a crucial game which dragged them over the line to qualify for the World Cup.

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates

Neymar

Neymar in action against Real Madrid during the International Champions Cup in Florida

The Brazilian was fourth in the Best FIFA 2016 awards, but moves into the top three this year, replacing Antoine Griezmann.

Neymar was part of a front three at Barcelona that scored 116 goals in La Liga last season - at an average of over three goals per game. Although he scored 24 goals less than Messi managed, no other player in the league created more chances for their team-mates (91) and he completed the most dribbles per game by any player in the league.

Neymar during the Ligue 1 football match between PSG and Lyon at Parc des Princes
Image: Neymar became the world's most expensive player this summer

Those level of performances meant Neymar became the world's most expensive player this summer when he left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in a £200m deal. He'll be hoping to spearhead PSG's charge to potential Champions League glory this season.

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Who should win the top award? Vote in our poll below....

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