Real Madrid dominate list of UEFA Champions League Players of the Year

After winning back-to-back Champions League titles, Real Madrid have a host of players who are now looking to win the UEFA positional players of the year in the forward, midfield, and defense positions. Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid have the most nominees of any team in Europe.

When you win both the LaLiga and Champions League title in the same season, it’s pretty obvious that there are plenty of great players on the team. That is the good problem Los Blancos had in 2016/2017 and will have going forward.

Thanks to great individual and team play, Real have six players nominated for three very prestigious awards. The UEFA Champions League Player of the Year for each position is a very high honor and one that several Real Madrid players will want to win to show off their achievement.

The way the awards work is done by position. There are three nominees for each position: goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward. Madrid have nominees in the latter three positional categories and six in total out of the 12 nominees.

Predictably, Cristiano Ronaldo is alongside long-time rival, Leo Messi, and up and comer Juventus striker Paulo Dybala in a fight for the forward of the season award.

Cristiano has been frequently been a member of the Champions League Team of the Year and has won the individual award for forward of the year in 2007/2008 when he was with Manchester United.

Ronaldo’s impressive play throughout the knockout rounds might be enough to earn him the top spot in the category, as he scored 10 goals from the quarterfinal against Bayern Munich, to the final against Juventus. During that run, CR7 scored hat-tricks in two matches in a row helping Real knock out both Bayern and Atletico Madrid.

The midfielder category features an unprecedented sweep of the three positions with all Real Madrid players nominated for the award. Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro were all the staples of the Real midfield all season in both the league and in Europe, and the great play from the three earned them all nominations.

As to who I think we will the award, it’s really hard to say. I think the two leading candidates are Kroos and Modric who were nearly flawless passing the ball and controlling the midfield. While Casemiro played very well this season and scored the game winner against Juventus, and an incredible goal from distance against Bayern, the overall play from both Kroos and Modric was better.

Defense is dominated by Real Madrid as well.

Although Los Blancos’ defense is very impressive across the board, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo are both incredible at what they do.

The two will be vying for the award with Juventus center back Leonardo Bonucci, but I think it’ll be either Ramos or Marcelo who take home the honor.

Marcelo was up to his old tricks throughout Real’s UCL campaign, providing great attacking presence, while also being stout on defense. The Brazilian left back didn’t score but, provided two assists and an average pass completion of 84%.

Ramos, on the other hand, was great all year sporting the captain’s armband, providing a goal and two assists in 11 Champions League matches.

Keylor Navas was not nominated for the goalkeeper award, as Bayern’s Manuel Neuer, Atletico’s Jan Oblak, and Juve’s captain, Gianluigi Buffon were chosen over the Costa Rican.

The awards will be handed out on August 24th when the Champions League group stage draw will take place. The same day, the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award will be handed out. The nominees for this award will be announced on August 15th, but I expect it to be Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, and Neymar.

Next: Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Real Madrid training ahead of Super Cup match

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