Players shortlisted for UEFA Champions League positional awards

 UEFA Champions League

UEFA has today announced the names of the players shortlisted for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League positional awards. The awards will honour the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward from the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League season, and will be announced during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw, which takes place on Thursday 26 August in Istanbul, Turkey.

The jury comprises the coaches from the 32 clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League, together with 55 journalists from each of UEFA’s 55 member associations, selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.

Coaches and journalists were requested to select a shortlist of three players in each category by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.

The three players who received the most points overall in each positional category, in alphabetical order, are:

GOALKEEPERS:

Thibaut Courtois (Belgium – Real Madrid CF)

Ederson (Brazil – Manchester City FC)

Édouard Mendy (Senegal – Chelsea FC)

DEFENDERS:

César Azpilicueta (Spain – Chelsea FC)

Rúben Dias (Portugal – Manchester City FC)

Antonio Rüdiger (Germany – Chelsea FC)

MIDFIELDERS:

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium – Manchester City FC)

Jorginho (Italy – Chelsea FC)

N’Golo Kanté (France – Chelsea FC)

FORWARDS:

Erling Haaland (Norway – Borussia Dortmund)

Kylian Mbappé (France – Paris Saint-Germain)

Robert Lewandowski (Poland – FC Bayern München)

The list of players who made up the rest of the top 10 is available on UEFA.com.

***

UEFA Women’s Champions League

On the same occasion, UEFA will announce the best Women’s Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward from the 2020/21 UEFA Women’s Champions League season.

For the women’s positional awards, the shortlist of three players was selected by a jury composed of the coaches of the clubs which participated in the Round of 16 of the 2020/21 UEFA Women’s Champions League. Twenty journalists specialising in women’s football and selected by the ESM group are also part of the jury.

Similarly to the men’s accolades, coaches and journalists were requested to select a shortlist of three players by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and the journalists. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

The three players who received the most points overall in each positional category, in alphabetical order, are:

GOALKEEPERS:

Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany – Chelsea FC)

Christiane Endler (Chile – Paris Saint-Germain, now at Olympique Lyonnais)

Sandra Paños (Spain – FC Barcelona)

DEFENDERS:

Magdalena Eriksson (Sweden – Chelsea FC)

Mapi León (Spain – FC Barcelona)

Irene Paredes (Spain – Paris Saint-Germain, now at FC Barcelona)

MIDFIELDERS:

Aitana Bonmatí (Spain – FC Barcelona)

Alexia Putellas (Spain – FC Barcelona)

Ji So-yun (Republic of Korea – Chelsea FC)

FORWARDS:

Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway – FC Barcelona)

Jennifer Hermoso (Spain – FC Barcelona)

Lieke Martens (Netherlands – FC Barcelona)

The list of players who made up the rest of the top 10 is available on UEFA.com.

***

UEFA Europa League

UEFA has also revealed the shortlist for the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award, to be announced during the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League group stage draw, which takes place on the following day, Friday 27 August also in Istanbul.

The jury for this award was composed of the coaches of the 48 clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists selected by the ESM group. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.

Coaches and journalists were requested to select a shortlist of three players by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.

The three players who received the most points overall, in alphabetical order, are:

PLAYERS:

Edinson Cavani (Uruguay – Manchester United FC)

Bruno Fernandes (Portugal – Manchester United FC)

Gerard Moreno (Spain – Villarreal CF)

The list of players who made up the rest of the top 10 is available on UEFA.com.

These awards complement the UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year awards, which will also be announced at the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony. The nominees for the overall men’s and women’s player and coach awards will be revealed next week.