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Liverpool FC dominate the positional award shortlists for the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season, with five of their players making the cut following their success in the Madrid final.
Two of the Reds’ impressive back four, plus goalkeeeper Alisson Becker, are in contention along with captain Jordan Henderson and forward Sadio Mané.
Positional award nominees for the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax, now Juventus), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax, now Barcelona), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Forwards: Sadio Mané (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen are rewarded with places on the list after Tottenham’s run to the final, while two players who lit up last season’s competition with Ajax are also in the running – albeit Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong have since moved to Juventus and Barcelona respectively.
There are three nominees per position, with the winners to be announced during the 2019/20 group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday 29 August.
What are these awards?
These accolades were introduced two years ago to recognise the season’s best player in each position in Europe’s premier club competition. This year’s winners will be named – along with the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and UEFA Women’s Player of the Year – during the UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco on 29 August.
Player rankings (4 to 10)
Goalkeepers
4 Jan Oblak (Atlético) – 36 points
5 André Onana (Ajax) – 28 points
6 Ederson (Manchester City) – 20 points
7 Samir Handanovic (Inter) – 3 points
8= Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus) – 2 points
8= David de Gea (Manchester United) – 2 points
No other goalkeepers were voted for
Defenders
4 Andy Robertson (Liverpool) – 16 points
5 Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) – 14 points
6 Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) – 12 points
7 Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) – 8 points
8= Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham) – 5 points
8= Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) – 5 points
8= Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) – 5 points
Midfielders
4 Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) – 52 points
5 Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) – 48 points
6 Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham) – 22 points
7 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) – 21 points
8= Dušan Tadic (Ajax) – 20 points
8= Hakim Ziyech (Ajax) – 20 points
10= Donny van de Beek (Ajax) – 19 points
10= Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) – 19 points
Forwards
4 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 83 points
5 Dušan Tadic (Ajax) – 35 points
6 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) – 15 points
7 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) – 10 points
8= Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – 9 points
8= Harry Kane (Tottenham) – 9 points
10 Leroy Sané (Manchester City) – 6 points
How the players were shortlisted
The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from every UEFA member association. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
Jury members chose their top three players per position, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The three players who got the most points in each category made up the final shortlist.
Last season’s winners
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Midfielder: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Have your say
You can get involved in the debate on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #UEFAawards.
