How the award came about
Monday, August 1, 2011
Article summary
The UEFA Best Player in Europe Award was born out of an initiative by UEFA President Michel Platini and has the intention of reviving the spirit of the old European Footballer of the Year award.
Article body
The UEFA Best Player in Europe award was created in partnership with European Sports Media (ESM) and it recognises the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing for a club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the previous season.
For the inaugural award, players were judged by their performances during the 2010/11 campaign in all competitions, both domestic and international, and at club and national team levels.
The three players on the shortlist for this year's prize are FC Barcelona's Xavi Hernández and Lionel Messi, and Real Madrid CF's Cristiano Ronaldo. Their nominations were confirmed on 25 July after a jury of 53 sports journalists representing each of the UEFA member associations whittled down the 2010/11 long list.
The other players in the top ten were:
4 Andrés Iniesta (ESP) – FC Barcelona (33 points)
5 Falcao (COL) – FC Porto (17)
6 Wayne Rooney (ENG) – Manchester United FC (15)
7 Nemanja Vidić (SRB) – Manchester United FC (5)
8 Zlatan Ibrahimović (SWE) – AC Milan (4)
Gerard Piqué (ESP) – FC Barcelona (4)
10 Manuel Neuer (GER) – FC Schalke 04* (3)
* has since joined FC Bayern München
The award replaces the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award claimed in 2010 by FC Internazionale Milano's Diego Milito. Ronaldo (2008) and Messi (2009) are past winners.
That award formed part of the UEFA Club Football Awards which also included prizes for best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward and coach and had been presented in Monaco every August since 1998.
