Europa League Player of the Season contenders
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Article summary
Either Diego Godín, Antoine Griezmann or Dimitri Payet will be announced as the winner at the 31 August group stage draw.
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Diego Godín, Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet have been shortlisted for the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award as the tournament's top ten stars were revealed.
Griezmann was man of the match as Atlético clinched the trophy in May, scoring twice, while team-mate Godín was the leader of a defence that conceded just four goals en route to the title.
The Lyon showpiece ended in disappointment for Marseille's Payet, though he too illuminated the competition – as anyone who witnessed his brilliant goals against Leipzig and Athletic will testify.
The award will be presented during the UEFA Europa League group stage draw in Monaco on 31 August. Paul Pogba won the inaugural award for 2016/17.
Diego Godín (Atlético Madrid)
Appearances: 8
Minutes: 720
Goals conceded: 4
Clean sheets: 4
Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)
Appearances: 8
Minutes: 630
Goals: 6
Assists: 4
Dimitri Payet (Marseille)
Appearances: 12
Minutes: 812
Goals: 3
Assists: 7
Player rankings (4 to 10)
4 Jan Oblak (Atlético) – 43 points
5 Ciro Immobile (Lazio) – 26 points
6= Aritz Aduriz (Athletic), Koke (Atlético) – 16 points
8= Luiz Gustavo (Marseille), Florian Thauvin (Marseille) – 10 points
10 Sergej Milinković-Savić (Lazio) – 8 points
How the players were shortlisted
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, representing each of UEFA's member associations.
Jury members selected 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 teams.
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