Topics: UEFA, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo
The winner will be announced on August 27. Suarez is the third player on this list that used to have ten names on it.

The shortlist for the nominees of UEFA Player of the Year award has been narrowed down to three with the names of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. The winner will be announced on August 27, the day of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw. 

This is the list that UEFA announced earlier on Wednesday

Cristiano Ronaldo want to defend an award he received last year, after Real Madrid won it all except La Liga in the 2013-2014 season. The Portuguese striker earned the Pichichi award with Los Merengues this season after scoring 47 goals in a 38-weel long season. He also recorded 61 goals in all competitions, making it a personal best. The current Ballon d'Or Award winner has scored two or more goals in one game in 20 occassions.

Lionel Messi is another very strong candidate to win an award he has not earned since 2011. The Argentinian just scored two goals in the UEFA Super Cup final against Sevilla in a game that ended 5-4. La Pulga has registered five hat-tricks and is leveled with Ronaldo with 77 goals in the UEFA Champions League. Messi might not have played a vital role with Barcelona in this year's UCL final, but he was a star in almost every other game.

Luis Suarez completes this list of three players that were voted by journalists of 54 associated members of UEFA. His addition to an already strong Barcelona striking line was lethal against teams like Manchester City. El Pistolero scored in each leg of their encounters against the citizen in the Round of 16. Along with Messi and Neymar Jr., they scored 122 goals in all competitions. The Uruguayan striker missed almost the first half of the season due to a ban after the world cup for bitting Giorgio Chiellini. While Neymar was the one to score the goal that clinched the UCL title for Barcelona, his name barely made it to the top five. 

The Top Ten list (Top three in no partuicular order):

  1. Lionel Messi

  2. Cristiano Ronaldo

  3. Luis Suarez

  4. Gianluigi Buffon 24 points

  5. Neymar Jr. 23 points

  6. Eden Hazard 21 points

  7.  Andrea Pirlo 12 points

  8. Arturo Vidal 11 points

  9. Carlos Tevez 8 points

  10. Paul Pogba 5 points

Some people can't believe Neymar is not in the top three