Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo nominees for FIFA's top player

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar have been nominated as finalists for the Best FIFA Men's Player award.

The nominations were announced in London on Friday, with Ronaldo favoured to join Messi as a five-time winner. The prizes will be handed out at the London Palladium theatre on Oct. 23.

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.
Messi and Neymar claimed the Spanish King's Cup with Barcelona with the former finishing as La Liga's top scorer with 37 goals last season.

Carli Lloyd is in contention to sweep a hat trick of women's player awards. The American midfielder is being challenged by Lieke Martens, whose goals powered the Netherlands to the European Championship, and 18-year-old Deyna Castellanos, who won the South American Under-17 Championship 2016.

In the coach of the year categories, most are being recognized for their achievements at club level. The nominees for the men's prize are Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus), Antonio Conte (Chelsea) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid). The women's coaching contenders are Nils Nielsen (Denmark), Gerard Precheur (Lyon) and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands).