UEFA's website revealed the three candidates to win the UEFA Player of the Year award. After a careful analysis, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon will battle to win ths trophy.
The Portuguese ace is gunning to win the trophy for a second straight year. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi will be hoping to win this award for the third time ever, whilst "Gigi" Buffon makes his first appearance in the Top 3 European players, after finishing 4th in 2015 and 6th in 2016.
Here's how the UEFA Champions League Twitter feed unveiled each one of the contenders.
Gianluigi Buffon
.@gianluigibuffon in 2016/17:
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2017
Domestic:
: Serie A, Coppa Italia
Games: 30
Clean sheets: 13#UCL:
Games: 12
Clean sheets: 9#UEFAPOTY ? pic.twitter.com/Inj3KaJA8U
Lionel Messi
Messi in 2016/17:
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2017
: Copa del Rey
Liga:
: 34
: 37
: 9#UCL
: 9
: 11
: 2#UEFAPOTY ? pic.twitter.com/1LzsKdCvQZ
Cristiano Ronaldo
.@cristiano in 2016/17:
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2017
: #UCL, Spanish Liga, FIFA Club World Cup
Liga:
: 29
: 25
: 6#UCL
: 13
: 12
: 6#UEFAPOTY ? pic.twitter.com/woqA7Lwpkr
Other players were considered for the award, and even if they didn't make it to the Top 3, being included among the ten best players in Europe has to be quite an honor. That list includes, in order of appearance, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Paulo Dybala, Sergio Ramos, Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the only player to perform in the UEFA Europa League to be included in this list.
The awards ceremony will take place on August 24.