Terrific trio contend again

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are the contenders for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s top player award for the third straight year.

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.

While Ronaldo won the Spanish soccer league and Champions League at Real Madrid, Messi and Neymar collected only the Copa del Rey title with Barcelona.

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

In the coach of the year categories, 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).