The UEFA announced the short-lists of players for UEFA 2017/18 Champions League in different categories, on Thursday. The awards will be given to the best in various groups, i.e. of Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, and Forward, during the 2017/18 Champions League season. Fan favourites Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, and Lionel Messi amongst others made the cut across different leagues.

UEFA’s jury consisted of the coaches of all the 32 clubs that participated in the group stage of the concluded Champions League 2017-18. Eminent journalists from 55 nations (UEFA’s 55 member associations). However, the coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their teams. Each jury member was asked to shortlist three players in each category. The final short-lists were prepared on the basis of most points accumulated.

We take a look at the list of players who were short-listed for the prestigious awards to be awarded by UEFA.

GOALKEEPERS:

Alisson Becker (Brazil – AS Roma, now at Liverpool FC), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy – Juventus, now at Paris Saint-Germain), and Keylor Navas (Costa Rica – Real Madrid CF).

DEFENDERS:

Marcelo (Brazil – Real Madrid CF), Sergio Ramos (Spain – Real Madrid CF), and Raphaël Varane (France – Real Madrid CF).

MIDFIELDERS:

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium – Manchester City FC), Toni Kroos (Germany – Real Madrid CF), and Luka Modrić (Croatia – Real Madrid CF)

FORWARDS:

Lionel Messi (Argentina – FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal – Real Madrid CF, now at Juventus), and Mohamed Salah (Egypt – Liverpool FC).

The UEFA Champions League 2016-17 Season Winners Were as Listed Below:

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielder: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)

Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

The awards will be presented to the players on August 30, on the same day, when the group stage draw of 2018/19 Champions League will be drawn. Stay tuned with us for all the latest updates and news about UEFA Champions League’s Awards.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2018 11:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).