The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has released the list of players nominated for the positional award of 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League season.
This year’s winners will be announced during the 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, 26 August, 2021.
The UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and UEFA Women’s Player of the Year will also be announced on the same day, while the 2020/2021 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season will be announced the following day.
The nominees were chosen by a jury which comprises of coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from every UEFA member association.
According to a statement on UEFA’s website, “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.”
Below are the Nominees for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League positional award:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Ederson (Manchester City), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
Defenders: César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jorginho (Chelsea), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
While, the 2019/2020 positional award winners are:
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defender: Joshua Kimmich
Midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne
Forward: Robert Lewandowski