Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi Top 2017 FIFA The Best Men's Player Shortlist

Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona maestro Lionel Messi headline the 24-man shortlist to win The Best FIFA Men's Player 2017 award, with new Paris Saint-Germain recruit Neymar also in contention.

World football's governing body announced all 24 candidates on Thursday, including injured free agent Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Leonardo Bonucci, who joined AC Milan from Juventus this summer:

Los Blancos superstar Ronaldo won last year's award and will undoubtedly be among the top stars jostling for the 2017 crown after helping Real win a third UEFA Champions League title in four seasons back in June.

Juve stopper Gianluigi Buffon, Real's Keylor Navas and Bayern Munich No. 1 Manuel Neuer are the goalkeepers up for the award, while Los Merengues are the most represented club with six nominees:

BBC Sport reported how Ronaldo won The Best Men's Player in 2016 after receiving 34.54 per cent of the vote, almost 10 per cent more than Messi, who was a distant second after claiming 26.42 per cent of the ballot.

It seems all too likely La Liga's leading pair will duel for bragging rights this time around, given last year's third-place finisher, Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, was far off their pace and won only 7.53 per cent.

This year's FIFA The Best award ceremony is to be held in London on Monday, October 23, per the body's official website, following its split from the Ballon d'Or in 2016, dividing into two separate trophies.

If Ronaldo wins as expected, coming off the back of a season in which he also led Real to their first La Liga title since 2012, Squawka noted the forward could be in line to celebrate along manager Zinedine Zidane:

Neymar's recent £200 million move to PSG makes him the only Ligue 1-based player up for the accolade, which is precisely the kind of prominence he may have been hoping for in moving to France's top flight.

The other six Blancos up for the gong are Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal, Navas, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, the latter of whom was particularly instrumental in the Champions League triumph over Juventus in Cardiff several months ago.

With Copa del Rey winners Barcelona (three) and Real Madrid (seven) accounting for almost half of the shortlist between them, La Liga stands as the best-represented league on the shortlist with 11 players included.

Premier League champions Chelsea are the only English team to have more than one nominee thanks to Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante, while Kane and Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez boost their numbers. Ibrahimovic most recently played for Manchester United but is currently without a club following a knee injury in April.