The names of UEFA Player of the Year and UEFA Player of the Year nominees have already been made official, with the taking place during the draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage in Monaco on 24 August.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) are the three players who will compete for the men’s prize, with the Real Madrid striker a clear favourite.
These prizes are complemented by the election of the best players, by position, in the last edition of the competition:
-Candidates for the best goalkeeper of the UEFA Champions League 2016/17:Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Jan Oblak (AtleticoMadrid).
-Candidates for the best defender of the UEFA Champions League 2016/17:Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus – now AC Milan), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
-Candidates for the best midfielder of the UEFA Champions League 2016/17:Casemiro (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Real Madrid).
-Candidates for the best striker of the UEFA Champions League 2016/17:Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).
Created in collaboration with the European Sports Media (ESM) group of which MARCA is a part, these awards recognise the best players, regardless of nationality, who have played last season in a club within the territory of a federation member of the UEFA.
It takes into account the performance of the players in all competitions (national, continental and international), and the jury consists of sports journalists representing each of the member associations of UEFA, the coaches of teams that played in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Coaches cannot vote for players from their own team.
How voting works
Journalists from each of the 55 member federations presented an initial list with their top five ranked players.
The first received five points, the second four, and so on, and the ten most voted players advanced to a second round of voting, determining Ronaldo, Messi and Buffon as the three finalists.
In a poll conducted live during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the same 55 journalists will select their favourite from the list of the three players via an electronic system.
