Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez named on 23-man shortlist for Fifa Men's Player award

Ten Premier League players have been shortlisted for Fifa Men's Player 2016, including Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. The Gunners attackers were both recently omitted from the 30-man shortlist for the coveted Ballon d'Or, but are in contention for the inaugural Fifa Men's Player gong.

The other Premier League players who feature on the list are Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Dimitri Payet, Paul Pogba and Jamie Vardy, all of whom are competing with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the coveted gong.

Messi, 29, is joined on the shortlist by his Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez and Neymar, who form the most fearsome attacking line-up in European football. The record-breaking Argentine is a five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or and he will be keen to add the first-ever Fifa Men's Player award to his enviable collection of personal accolades.

Once again, however, he will face stiff competition from Ronaldo, who has won the Champions League with Real Madrid and Euro 2016 with Portugal earlier this year. The 31-year-old star is joined on the shortlist by his Real teammates Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale, who is one of only two British players on the list.

The award is to be determined by a combined voting process, in which half of the poll will be based on the votes of captains and head coaches from national teams, while the other half will be split between an online public ballot and the views of a selected group of more than 200 media professionals. The Best Fifa Football Awards show will be staged in Zurich, Switzerland on 9 January.