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The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have announced the final shortlist for much-awaited Player of the Year awards for 2020-21 season. The prestigious award is given to players/managers, with both domestic and international competitions taken into considerations. Something really astonishing has happened this year in the men's category as the final three nominees features all midfielders, which is the first time in 11-year history of the award.
The Premier League trio of Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium), Jorginho (Chelsea/Italy) and N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea/France) emerged as top three in the final shortlist - thanks to the splendid performances by the three players for their club and country over the course of last 12 months.
Who all were involved in shortlisting of the player?
The final shortlist was selected by a jury which included the following members:
- 24 coaches of the national sides which took part in UEFA EURO 2020
- 80 coaches of the clubs who featured in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48)
- 55 journalists selected by European Sports Media (ESM) group, featuring one from each of UEFA's member associations
List of other players who featured in top 10
All the jury members chose their top three players, with the top three receiving 5, 3 and 1 points respectively. Notably, coaches weren't allowed to vote for players from their own team. After the final tally, the trio emerged as top three with the following players missing the cut:
- Lionel Messi (Barcelona/now PSG & Argentina) - 148 points
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern & Poland) – 140 points
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/now PSG & Italy) – 49 points
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris & France) – 31 points
- Raheem Sterling (Man. City & England) – 18 points
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) – 16 points
- Erling Haaland (Dortmund & Norway) – 15 points
List of top three nominees of other categories
Women's Player of the Year
1. Jenni Hermoso (Barcelona & Spain)
2. Lieke Martens (Barcelona & Netherlands)
3. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
Men's Coach of the Year
1. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
2. Roberto Mancini (Italy)
3. Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
Women's Coach of the Year
1. Lluis Cortes (Barcelona)
2. Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden)
3. Emma Hayes (Chelsea)
The names of all the award-winners will be announced on August 26, Thursday during the UCL draws ceremony, which is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey.