Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi nominated for ‘Player of the Century’ at Dubai Globe Soccer Awards

Shortlists for seven categories picked entirely fans with eight million votes registered from more than 230 countries

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has been nominated for 'Player of the Century' at this month’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. Reuters

Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi has been nominated for 'Player of the Century' and 'Player of the Year' at this month’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. AFP

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo has been shortlisted for 'Player of the Century' and 'Player of the Year' awards. Reuters

Brazilian great Ronaldinho has been nominated in 'Player of the Century' category. AP

Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski has been nominated for the 'Player of the Year' award at Dubai Globe Soccer Awards. Reuters

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been shortlisted in 'Coach of the Century' category. Getty

Jose Mourinho, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, has been nominated for 'Coach of the Century'. Getty

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane will also vie for 'Coach of the Century' award. Reuters

Sir Alex Ferguson has been shortlisted for 'Coach of the Century' award. Reuters

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is up for 'Coach of the year' award. EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah have been confirmed as finalists for this month’s Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, with all three nominated for ‘Player of the Century’.

For the first time since the awards’ inception in 2010, the shortlists for the seven categories have been chosen entirely by fans.

On Tuesday, organisers reported that in excess of 8 million votes have been registered from more than 230 countries worldwide. The ceremony, held in partnership with Dubai Sports Council, takes place at Armani Hotel on December 27 and follows on from the Dubai International Sports Conference that same day.

Organisers said the awards will this year recognise the top talent in 2020 while also extending for the first time to the standout performers of the past 20 years. The winner of an eighth category – the ‘Player Career Award’ – will be announced on the night, too.

Ronaldo and Messi vie for both ‘Player of the Century 2001-2020’ and 'Player of the Year’ awards. They are joined in the former category by Liverpool’s Salah and former Barcelona star and Brazil World Cup winner Ronaldinho. Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski makes up the shortlist for the 2020 award.

Meanwhile, ‘Coach of the Century’ will be contested by Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Zinedine Zidane, while Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Egypt’s Al Ahly have been shortlisted for ‘Club of the Century’.

The second round of voting is now open to decide the winners. Fans can vote at vote.globesoccer.com, at this year's event title sponsor TikTok, or via the media partners platform, Kooora, in the Arab region. The winners are chosen by fans and the Globe Soccer Jury, said to comprise a panel of leading industry experts.