Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has been shortlisted for the men’s Player of the Year award. He has been named on a three-man shortlist alongside the Real Madrid duo of ThibautCourtois and Karim Benzema.
Belgian international skipper Courtois made several saves during the Champions League final clash with Liverpool and he was rightfully named the Player of the Match. Frenchman Benzema finished as the highest goalscorer in the Champions League.He scored 15 goalsto lead Real Madridto the Champions League final before Vinicius finished off the job with the only goal of the game.
For Kevin De Bruyne, the midfielder won the Premier League Player of the Season for last season. He was part of the Manchester City squad that reached the last four of the Champions League. De Bruyne and Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-3 at home in the first leg before Real Madrid overturned the deficit with a 3-1 win after extra time. Real Madrid sealed a final spot with the 6-5 aggregate win over Manchester City.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, initially shortlisted 15 players for the aforementioned award, but it has been narrowed down to three players. Other players who didn’t make the shortlist include Lorenzo Pellegrini (AS Roma), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), KylianMbappe (Paris Saint Germain), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) and Fabinho (Liverpool).
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Italian tactician Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid made the three-man shortlist for the men’s Manager of the Year award.
The winners of the aforementioned award will be announced at the Champions League group-stage draw in Istanbul in a matter of a few weeks.
Tags: Kevin De Bruyne
