UEFA announced on Tuesday the final three-man squad for the last year’s European Footballer of the Year award and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, and Liverpool star player Virgil van Dijk are competing for the same.
Van Dijk makes the first appearance after he played a vital role in Liverpool’s successful European campaign, playing 12 times en route to lifting the trophy.
Ronaldo who is a three-time winner of the award has been ever-present in the final three since the award was created back in 2011 and two-time winner Lionel Messi was the leading scorer in both La Liga (36 goals) and the Champions League(12 goals).
The winner of the award will be announced on August 29th in Monaco, France during the Champions League and European League draw for the new season and Luka Modric was the player who won last year’s award.
England’s Lucy Bronze is shortlisted for the women’s award along with Lyon team-mates Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry. Hegerberg was a 2016 winner, while Henry has now been nominated four times in five seasons.
