Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Trent
Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane have all been named in the
11-man final shortlist to win UEFA’s annual individual awards in their
respective positions.
All five men played a starring role in Liverpool’s European Cup success last season, with a 2-0 final win over Tottenham securing the sixth crown of the club’s illustrious history.
Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Bayern Munich, Porto and Barcelona in the knockout stages before avenging their defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 final, thanks to goals from Salah and Divock Origi.
UEFA have announced the nominees for this year’s best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward on Thursday, with Tottenham duo Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen the only other Premier League stars included.
Barcelona are represented in the form of Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Lionel Messi, with summer signing Frenkie de Jong also making the final cut after an outstanding 2018-19 campaign with Ajax.
The Dutchman’s fellow countryman and former teammate Matthijs de Ligt has also been named in the final 10, having emerged as one of Europe’s finest defenders at Ajax before securing a move to Juventus in July.
Juve’s Cristiano Ronaldo completes the 11-man shortlist, despite the club’s elimination from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
UEFA have also announced the shortlist for the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League Player of the Season award, which has seen Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud nominated alongside Luka Jovic.
Giroud and Hazard both found the net in a 4-1 final victory for Chelsea over Arsenal in Baku, while Jovic helped Eintracht Frankfurt reach the semi-finals.
Hazard and Jovic have both completed transfers to Real Madrid in the intervening months, which means they will be starring in the Champions League in the upcoming season.
This year’s winners in both competitions will be announced at the Group Stage draw in Monaco on August 30, after an extensive voting process which allowed journalists and coaches to make their selections.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NOMINEES:
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool); Hugo Lloris (Tottenham); Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool); Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax, now Juventus); Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax, now Barcelona); Christian Eriksen (Tottenham); Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Liverpool); Lionel Messi (Barcelona); Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
EUROPA LEAGUE NOMINEES
Olivier Giroud (Chelsea); Eden Hazard (Chelsea, now Real Madrid); Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt, now Real Madrid)-Goal
