Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Andres Iniesta have been announced as this year’s three nominees for the UEFA Best Player In Europe Award.
The award, which will be presented in Monaco on August 30th, was originally compiled by one journalist from each UEFA member country, and reduced by selecting the three players who received the most votes.
The shortlist, with two players from Barcelona and one from Real Madrid, continues to reflect La Liga’s dominance of the game’s top talent, with another candidate, Xavi Hernandez, narrowly missing out along with Juventus’ Andrea Pirlo, who also excelled at Euro 2012. The final decision will be made live by electronic voting, also by journalists, during the ceremony.
The award has only been running in it’s current form for a year, and the inaugural trophy was presented to Lionel Messi, who finished ahead of Ronaldo and Xavi in 2011 by a landslide.