Messi ranked fifth in UEFA Player of the Year shortlist

Lionel Messi is ranked fifth in UEFA Player of the Year shortlist. Ronaldo, Salah and Modric will be competing for the prestigious award.

On Monday, UEFA announced a shortlist of three men in contention for the UEFA Player Of The Year award. Mohammed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric come in the top three with the winner set to be announced on the 30th of August in Monaco during the group stage draw of the Champions League.

Modric was instrumental in Croatia’s surge to the FIFA World Cup finals and was also awarded with the Golden Ball. In addition to his international displays, Modric also won the UEFA Champions League title with Real Madrid and was one of their most important players in the campaign.

Cristiano Ronaldo may now be at Juventus but his displays at Madrid have gotten him in the top three. A Champions League winner yet again and also the competition’s top scorer, Ronaldo is the favourite to lift the award yet again. Since the award was introduced in 2011, Ronaldo is the only player to make the top three every time.

Mo Salah’s nomination comes at the back of a brilliant season with Liverpool. He finished second in the Champions League with Liverpool but won the Premier League’s Golden Boot for consistently breath taking displays in Red. With 44 goals to his name in 2017/18, Salah is also a deserved candidate.

However, one big miss from the top three is Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi. In spite of winning the Golden Boot with 34 goals as well as the La Liga and Copa del Rey, his performances in the Champions League and World Cup are likely to be responsible for his omission.

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Messi’s Barcelona team was knocked out from the UEFA Champions League in the quarter finals by Roma and his Argentina side could make it only to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia, The Argentinian has now finished fifth in the UEFA Best Player rankings behind Antoine Griezmann who is at fourth.

Other players in the top ten include Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard. Who do you think wins the highly regarded award next Thursday? Also, which teams form your group of death in this season’s Champions League?