Messi, Frenkie de Jong and Caroline Graham Hansen are amongst the 10 finalists for the FIFA award for the best player from last season – the winners will be announced in Milan on 23 September.
Messi has been on the shortlist thrice since the award was created in 2016 – but has never bagged it.
This time around he was top scorer in the La Liga and has also won the European Golden Shoe – so it might be a case of fourth time lucky.
Frenkie de Jong is on the list for the first time in his career after a great season with Ajax. Other names on the 10 man list are Cristiano Ronaldo, Matthijs De Ligt, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Sadio Mané, Kylian Mbappé, Mohammed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk.
Caroline Graham Hansen is in the running for the Women’s award.Others on the list are Lucy Bronze, Julie Ertz, Ada Hegerberg, Amandine Henry, Sam Kerr, Rose Lavelle, Vivianne Miedema, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Wendie Renard and Elen White.