See the top 10 players fighting to emerge as Europe’s best in 2016
– UEFA has shortlisted 10 players for the European best player award
– Three Germans and two Portuguese nationals made the cut
– Three players were surprisingly left out of the list
Europe’s football governing body, UEFA has released a 10-man shortlist for the Best Player in Europe award 2015-16.
The list of ten players will be reduced to three afterwards and the best European player of the year would be announced during a gala night.
Here the 10 players in contention for the award:
1. Gareth Bale: The Welsh man’s incredible performance for The Dragons at the Euro 2016 took his team all the way through to the semi final but eventually lost 0-2 to Portugal.
Gareth Bale
Bale scored three goals in Euro 2016 and 19 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions helping them to win this season’s Champions League.
2. Gianluigi Buffon: At the moment, the Italian is the most capped player for the Azzuri and he was part of the squad that reached the last eight of Euro 2016.
Gianluigi Buffon
At club level, the 38-year-old helped Juventus to win their third straight Scudetto in three years having the best defensive record in the Serie A.
3. Antoine Griezmann: His six goals earned him the valuable player of Euro 2016 and the top scorer award for France.
Antoine Griezmann
The 25-year-old was the most decorated player in the Atletico Madrid’s squad, scoring 22 goals in La Liga and seven Champions League goals which took them all the way to the finals.
4. Toni Kroos: He was the jewel in the heart of the German national team at the just concluded Euro 2016 tournament, where he chalked up 92 per cent passing advantage.
In his season with Real Madrid, Kroos had a second highest passing rate for the Los Blancos behind Luka Modric which led them to a second Champions League victory in three years.
5. Lionel Messi: Last year’s winner was also nominated for his sterling performance in the 2015/2016 season. Messi scored 41 goals in 49 games for Barcelona in their last campaign, where he won the League and Cup double for the Baulgrana.
However, his five goals at the Copa America competition was not enough for Argentina to win the trophy as he failed at the last hurdle to Chile for the second straight year.
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6. Thomas Muller: The German goal scoring machine had a disappointing spell at the European Championships but had a remarkable campaign with Bundesliga Champions, Bayern Munich.
Thomas Muller scores his second goal as Bayern beat Arsenal 5 – 1
Muller’s 20 league goals, four DFB-Pokal goals and eight Champions League goals put him on the line to become Europe’s best player for last campaign.
7. Manuel Neuer: Currently, he is arguably the best goalkeeper in the game and his exploits for both and country has put him in position of Europe’s number one spot.
During the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Round of 16 match between Germany and Algeria at Estadio Beira-Rio on June 30, 2014 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
8. Pepe: One of the bad boys in European football can not be overlooked as his performance for the Portuguese national team that won the Euro 2016 trophy can not be over-emphasized.
Pepe and Rui Patricio made the team of the tournament.
The 33-year-old was also an integral member in the Real Madrid defence as the richest club in the world won the Champions League at the expense of neighbours, Atletico.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo: CR7 is favourite to win the award because he has been the stand out player for Real Madrid and Portugal this season.
His three goals at Euro 2016 equaled Michel Platini’s nine-goal record set in 1984 when France hosted the tournament and most of all, winning the tournament itself.
Portuhgal captain Cristiano Ronaldo with EURO 2016 trophy
Moreover, Ronaldo’s 16 goals in the Champions League for Real Madrid also crowned the Los Blancos Champions for the 11th time and 51 goals in 48 appearances contributed to The Whites second place position in the La Liga.
10. Luis Suarez: He emerged top scorer in the Spanish League after scoring 40 goals in 35 La Liga matches snatching the Pichichi from Ronaldo and a total of 59 goals in 53 appearances for the Catalan club.
Messi
However, Suarez’s campaign in Copa America was dealt with a major blow as injury kept him out of the first two games of the tournament and Uruguay crashed at the group stage.
There are surprise exclusions from the 10 players shortlisted as the likes of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Neymar were all excluded from the list.
Paul Pogba
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