FIFA BEST Award: Van Dijk, Messi and Ronaldo seek to make new WORLD record today in Milan

Virgil Van Dijk is yet to beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for this year’s FIFA Best Award.

Croatian International, Luka Modric outcllassed Cristiano Ronaldo last year to be crowned as winner. Liverpool’s Van Dijk knocked the two world giants to be crowned as the European player of the year in France after an impressive display for Klopp's men since his record signing from Southampton.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award twice and has returned to the top three for the fourth year running whiles Messi, named the world’s top player five times is once more nominated among the trio.

Van Dijk conducted a decent Liverpool backline to win their sixth UEFA Champions League trophy after a disappointing lose to Madrid in Kiev last two seasons. Liverpool almost won the Premier League for the first time after 29 years but were beaten by Guardiola’s City by a point to retain the trophy.

Ronaldo won the Serie A title with the ‘old ladies’ after his exit from Madrid and influenced Portugal with his leadership to win the maiden edition of the UEFA Nations League trophy on home soil beating Van Dijk's Netherlands in the final by a goal to nil.

Messi won the Spanish Laliga yet the disappointing exit from the Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield was one of the shocking defeat in his career. The Argentine was the leading top scorer in the competition with 12 goals. He failed to win the Copa America with Argentina and was banned and fined $50,000 for alleging bias on the South American football body.

FIFA has commissioned the design of a new platinum-coated trophy to honour The Best at the inaugural The Best FIFA Football Awards. The trophy, with identical versions for both men’s and women’s players and coaches, has a shape, which resembles the iconic FIFA World Cup Trophy, an homage to tradition with a contemporary, dynamic design. The new trophy took shape thanks to Croatian artist Ana Barbic Katicic’s designs.

"The inspiration behind the design of this trophy is to honour the best players in the world for FIFA," Katic explained.

"We shared the same beliefs that we should not deviate from classical conventions and to respect the familiar and well-known FIFA identity."

Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino are the three finalist in the Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award category.

Guardiola became the first manager to win the domestic treble of the Premier League, League Cup and FA Cup. He also reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp won the UEFA Champions League title and guided the Reds to second in the premier League with a remarkable 97 points. Under the German, Liverpool lost once in the entire season; an outstanding season to be remembered in the history of the competition.

Pochettino managed Spurs to their first Champions League finals for decades but they were beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the all-English affair in the finals of the tournament. Spurs were forth under Pochettino but managed to reach the League Cup semi finals.

Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan of the United States Women National Team (USWNT) are competing with England’s Lucy Bronze for the Best FIFA Women’s Player of the Year whiles Jill Ellis, winner of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup back to back with the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) is in the Best FIFA Women’s Coach category with England’s Phil Neville and Sarina Wegman of Netherlands.