UEFA announces Champions League positional award nominees

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Post created on August 14, 2021

The body governing football in Europe, UEFA, has announced the shortlisted players for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League awards for different positions on its website.

Five Chelsea players make the cut, while three Man. City men take the Premier League contingent to eight. Real Madrid, Dortmund, Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain are also represented.

Positional award nominees for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League

GOALKEEPERS:

Thibaut Courtois (Belgium- Real Madrid)

Ederson Santana (Brazil- Manchester City)

Edouard Mendy (Senegal – Chelsea FC)

DEFENDERS:

Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain – Chelsea FC)

Ruben Dias (Portugal – Manchester City)

Antonio Rudiger (Germany – Chelsea FC )

MIDFIELDERS:

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium – Manchester City)

Jorginho (Italy – Chelsea FC)

N’golo Kante (France – Chelsea FC)

FORWARDS:

Erling Haaland (Norway – Borussia Dortmund)

Kylian Mbappe (France – Paris Saint-Germain)

Robert Lewandowski (Poland – Bayern Munich)

The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 26th, 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey. The draw of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season will also be conducted on the same day.

What are these awards?

These accolades were introduced in 2016/17 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 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday 26 August. The 2020/21 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season will be announced the following day.

 

How the players were shortlisted

The jury comprised the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2020/21 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.