UEFA has released the shortlist for the 2017/2018 UEFA Men's and Women's player of the year Awards, and barcelona star Lionel Messi isn’t even in the top 4 Men's players. Messi won the domestic double of the Laliga And copa del rey, scoring 34 goals in the league.
But, that was not sufficient for the barcelona forward to Move into the into the top four European players. Antoine griezemann, Won the 2018 world cup with france nabbed fourth place, leaving messi at fifth place.
On the Women's side , 2017 UEFA women's player of The year and barcelona and netherlands footballer Lieke Martens needed to accept seventh position, whilst english and Lyon midfielder Lucy bronze ended up in 5th position. The winners of the Men’s and Women’s UEFA Players of the Year will be revealed on Thursday, August 30 in Monaco.
The Men’s Player of the Year shortlist:
The three players who received the most votes are, in alphabetical order: Luka Modric , Cristiano Ronaldo and Mo Salah. Modric was hailed for his performance at the 2018 World Cup, captaining his side and leading them to the final. The Croatian star won the Player of the Tournament.
Meanwhile Ronaldo continues to defy his age by continuing to play at the elite level. The Portuguese player won his fifth Ballon d’Or , scored a total of 44 goals and won his third Champions League trophy in a row, fifth in total.
He also signed for Juventus in a £99 million deal that saw him leave Real Madrid with a sensational 450 goals in 438 games. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is the highest-ranked Premier League player in the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, deservedly so after the Egyptian exploded onto the English footballing scene going on to score 32 goals in 36 Premier League games. Salah also went on to score an impressive ten goals in the Champions League, although his participation in the Final was cut short following a shoulder injury.
These are the remaining seven top ten players:
■ Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France) – 72 points
■ Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina) – 55 points
■ Kylian Mbappe (Paris & France) – 43 points
■ Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium) – 28 points
■ Raphael Varane (Real Madrid & France) – 23 points
■ Eden Hazard (Chelsea & Belgium) – 15 points
■ Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid & Spain) – 12 points
The Women’s Player of the Year shortlist:
The three players who received the most votes are, in alphabetical order: Pernille Harder, Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry. Harder had an exceptional season, captaining Denmark and driving Wolfsburg to the Champions League Final, scoring 17 goals in 21 league appearances, and eight goals in eight Champions League games, as well as six assists. Harder was mainly the Champions League runner-up due to the performances of Ada Hegerberg, who was in prolific form last season. The 2016 prize winner Hegerberg ended the 2017/18 season as the Women’s Champions League Winner and the French League winner, scoring a staggering 31 goals in 20 league games and 15 goals in 9 Champions League matches.
While Amandine Henry hasn’t scored anywhere near as many goals as the other two shortlisted players, her midfield performances changed games, most notably the Champions League Final when she scored the crucial equaliser in extra- time, ultimately being named player of the match.
These are the remaining seven top ten players:
■ Dzsenifer Marozsan (Lyon & Germany) – 32 points
■ Lucy Bronze (Lyon & England) – 20 points
■ Lieke Martens (Barcelona & Netherlands) – 17 points
■ Wendie Renard (Lyon & France) – 16 points
■ Fran Kirby (Chelsea & England) – 15 points
■ Eugenie Le Sommer (Lyon & France) – 13 points
■ Shanice van de Sanden (Lyon & Netherlands) – 7 points
