Lausanne (AFP)
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil Van Dijk are in the running for the UEFA Best Player of the Year award, which will be presented on 29 August in Monaco.
Messi (Barcelona), Ronaldo (Juventus Turin) and Dutchman Van Dijk, who won the Champions League with Liverpool, have been selected by a jury of 80 club coaches who have participated in the Champions League and the Europa League and 55 journalists.
In the women's competition, the jury selected three players from Olympique Lyonnais, winner of the Champions League: Lucy Bronze from England, Norway's Ada Hegerberg and France's Amandine Henry.
The winners will be announced on August 29th in the draw of the group stage of the Champions League.
In 2018, Croatia's Luka Modric (Real Madrid) and Denmark's Pernille Harder (Wolfsburg) were honored.
Created in 2011, the first prize for the best UEFA player was won by Lionel Messi, who won again in 2015. Spaniard Andrés Iniesta won in 2012, Franck Ribéry in 2013 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
© 2019 AFP