UEFA's Player of the Year nominations have been revealed earlier today, and one new contender for the award has emerged.
As usual, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been considered to win this distinction by football's governing body in Europe, but they will have to face Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk, who has emerged as a top contender for all individual trophies.
Van Dijk has been praised by his contribution to Liverpool's UEFA Champions League triumph, which included eliminating Messi from the competition in the tournament's semi-finals. Messi, as always, has been included in this list for his goalscoring antics both in La Liga and the continental tournament. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has made the top of this shortlist thanks to his goalscoring contribution to Portugal's UEFA Nations League triumph, which adds to his first Scudetto with Juventus.
Here's how UEFA revealed the players set to fight for the award.
ICYMI...
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2019
NOMINEES: 2018/19 UEFA Men's Player of the Year
Leo Messi
@Cristiano Ronaldo
@VirgilvDijk
#UEFAawards winners announced at the #UCLdraw, 29 August pic.twitter.com/N0kD25IFoH
Unsurprisingly, Liverpool dominated the top ten spots for the award, with Alisson Becker, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah falling short to make the top three.