World football body, UEFA have released the shortlist of the top three nominees for the 2022/23 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, Manchester city’s duo of Erling Halaand and Kevin De Bruyne completes the list.
In the course of the 2022-23 season, Lionel Messi played a pivotal role in Argentina’s victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and secured the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain.
He also scored 21 goals and contributed 20 assists across 41 games in various competitions last season.
Manchester City achieved the European Treble in the previous season, with Erling Haaland delivering exceptional performance by registering 52 goals and nine assists in 53 games across different competitions.
Kevin De Bruyne also shone for Manchester City, recording 10 goals and 31 assists in 49 games across various tournaments.
Notable players who garnered votes but didn’t make it to the final three include İlkay Gündoğan, Rodri, Kylian Mbappé, Luka Modrić, Marcelo Brozović, Declan Rice, Alexis Mac Allister, and Jesús Navas.
The announcement of the award winner is scheduled to take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Thursday, August 31st.
