Ronaldo makes shortlist for UEFA Player of the Year award; Messi misses out
UEFA revealed Monday that Cristiano Ronaldo will have a chance to reclaim the Men’s Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo, who previously won the award three times during his illustrious career with Real Madrid, highlights a shortlist of nominees that includes Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and former Madrid teammate Luka Modric.
The Portuguese star, who joined Juventus this summer after nine years in Madrid, is coming off another superb season that concluded with him, alongside Modric, hoisting the Champions League trophy for a third consecutive year. Salah finds himself in contention for the award after his record-breaking debut campaign at Liverpool.
Meanwhile, two-time winner Lionel Messi finished fifth in voting behind Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
Here’s how the rest of the top 10 unfolded during the voting process:
| Rank | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid |
| 5 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona |
| 6 | Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 7 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City |
| 8 | Raphael Varane | Real Madrid |
| 9 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea |
| 10 | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid |
The shortlist was selected by a jury comprised of coaches of clubs that participated in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, as well as 55 journalists.
The winner will be announced Aug. 30 in Monaco during the group stage draw for the Champions League.
Elsewhere, the contenders for the Goalkeeper of the Season include Liverpool’s Alisson, Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Buffon, and Madrid’s Keylor Navas.
The trio of Marcelo, Ramos, and Varane will contend for the Defender of the Season honors, while Modric, Toni Kroos, and Kevin De Bruyne are up for the Midfielder of the Season award.
Messi, Ronaldo, and Salah were named Forward of the Season finalists.
The UEFA Women’s Player of the Season finalists are Pernille Harder, Ada Hegerberg, and Amandine Henry.
