None of the players who made it to the Champions League 2018-19 awards has made it to the cut this year. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk were not nominated for UEFA Champions League 2019-20 awards. Alison Becker and Frenkie de Jong were the ones who also walked away with the gong last year. Instead, the Bundesliga players have dominated the list. Players like Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Thiago Alcántara, Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Joshua Kimmich were the ones who made it to the cut. This wouldn't be a big surprise as Bayern Munich had won the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 against PSG in August 2020. Cristiano Ronaldo ‘Angry’ After Not Receiving UEFA Player of the Year Award: Massimiliano Allegri.
On one hand where Paris Saint Germain's Neymar Jr has been nominated for Best Forwards award, his team Keylor Navas has been nominated for the award of the Best Goalkeeper. Manchester City's Kevin de Bryune has been nominated for Best Midfielder. Now, let's have a look at the entire list released by UEFA below:
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas (Paris Saint-Germain), Manuel Neuer (Bayern), Jan Oblak (Atlético de Madrid)
Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern), Alphonso Davies (Bayern), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Thomas Müller (Bayern), Thiago Alcántara (Bayern)
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain).
Last year, it was Lionel Messi, who walked away with the Best Forward award. Frankie de Jong walked away with the Best Midfielder award. The jury this time comprised 32 clubs with 55 journalists. Even the coaches had voted here however, they were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2020 04:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).