Romelu Lukaku named Europa League Player of the Season
Friday, October 2, 2020
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Inter's Romelu Lukaku has topped the list of the best players in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League.
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Internazionale forward Romelu Lukaku has been named the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season.
The 27-year-old finished ahead of Bruno Fernandes and Éver Banega to win the fourth edition of the award, which was announced during the UEFA Europa League group stage draw in Nyon. His Belgian international team-mate Eden Hazard collected the gong last season.
Lukaku registered in all six of Inter's games after entering the competition in the knockout stage – striking seven goals in total – and also laid on two assists. He opened the scoring from the penalty spot in August's final though he was unfortunate to later deflect in a shot that gave Sevilla the title.
Lukaku nevertheless ended 2019/20 with 34 goals in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, a significant figure as it was also Ronaldo's return in his first campaign at the club in 1997/98. Having found the net in Inter's last two UEFA Champions League matches before transferring to the UEFA Europa League, he scored in eight successive outings in UEFA competition.
Top ten players of the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League
1 Romelu Lukaku (Inter) – 270 points
2 Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/Manchester United) – 128 points
3 Éver Banega (Sevilla) – 118 points
4 Luuk de Jong (Sevilla) – 64 points
5 Jesús Navas (Sevilla) – 59 points
6 Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla) – 39 points
7 Kai Havertz (Leverkusen) – 17 points
8 Diego Carlos (Sevilla) – 9 points
9 Adama Traoré (Wolves) – 8 points
10 Jules Koundé (Sevilla) – 7 points
How Lukaku was selected
The jury was composed of the coaches of the 48 clubs in last season's group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each UEFA member association.
Jury members picked their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
Previous winners
2018/19: Eden Hazard
2017/18: Antoine Griezmann
2016/17: Paul Pogba
Other 2019/20 award winners
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Pernille Harder
UEFA Men's Coach of the Year: Hansi Flick
UEFA Women's Coach of the Year: Jean-Luc Vasseur
Goalkeeper of the Season: Manuel Neuer
Defender of the Season: Joshua Kimmich
Midfielder of the Season: Kevin De Bruyne
Forward of the Season: Robert Lewandowski
Women's Goalkeeper of the Season: Sarah Bouhaddi
Women's Defender of the Season: Wendie Renard
Women's Midfielder of the Season: Dzsenifer Marozsán
Women's Forward of the Season: Pernille Harder
UEFA President’s Award: Didier Drogba