Shortlist for 2017/18 UEFA club competition awards revealed

022 - UEFA announces shortlist of players for the 2017/18 club competition awards

UEFA has today announced the names of the players shortlisted for the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League positional awards. The awards will honour the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward from the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season, and will be presented during the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday 30 August.

The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League, together with 55 journalists from each of UEFA’s 55 member associations, and selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. Both coaches and journalists were requested to select a shortlist of three players in each category by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.

The three players who received the most points overall in each positional category, in alphabetical order, are:

GOALKEEPERS: Alisson Becker (Brazil – AS Roma, now at Liverpool FC); Gianluigi Buffon (Italy – Juventus, now at Paris Saint-Germain); Keylor Navas (Costa Rica – Real Madrid CF)

DEFENDERS: Marcelo (Brazil – Real Madrid CF); Sergio Ramos (Spain – Real Madrid CF); Raphaël Varane (France – Real Madrid CF)

MIDFIELDERS: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium – Manchester City FC); Toni Kroos (Germany – Real Madrid CF); Luka Modrić (Croatia – Real Madrid CF)

FORWARDS: Lionel Messi (Argentina – FC Barcelona); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal – Real Madrid CF, now at Juventus); Mohamed Salah (Egypt – Liverpool FC)

The list of players voted for in each position can be accessed here.  

UEFA has also announced the shortlist for the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award, to be presented during the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League group stage draw, which will also take place in Monaco on Friday 31 August.

The jury for this award was composed of the coaches of the 48 clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists from the ESM group. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams. Both coaches and journalists were requested to select a shortlist of three players by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.

The three players who received the most points overall, in alphabetical order, are:

PLAYERS: Diego Godín (Uruguay – Club Atlético de Madrid); Antoine Griezmann (France – Club Atlético de Madrid); Dimitri Payet (France – Olympique de Marseille)

The list of players who were voted for this award can be accessed here.

These awards complement the UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards, which will also be presented at the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony. The three nominees for the overall UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards will be announced around two weeks before the awards ceremony.