UEFA announced on Thursday the list of candidates for the title of the best player on the continent during the last football season, and did not see the list of goalscorers Liverpool, Mohamed Salah and Senegalese Sadio Mane despite their leadership of the team to win the Champions League and European Super Cups and win English Premier League Top Scorer.
The short list included three players, the Argentine Lionel Messi of Barcelona, the Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus striker of Italy, and the Dutch defender Vergil van Dyke, Liverpool.
UEFA will announce the winner on August 29 during the Champions League group draw.
Dutchman Van Dyck may be the closest to the award, having made a major contribution to Liverpool's Champions League title last season, having won the title of the best player in the Premier League.