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Benzema, Courtois And De Bruyne Nominated For UEFA Award

Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne were on Friday shortlisted for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.


Real Madrid’s French forward Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish League football match between Real Madrid CF and RCD Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 30, 2022. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)
Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring his team fourth goal during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on May 11, 2022. Paul ELLIS / AFP
In this file photo, Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring his team fourth goal during the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on May 11, 2022. Paul ELLIS / AFP

 

Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne were on Friday shortlisted for the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award.

The European body of European football said that a jury made up of journalists and representatives of clubs playing in European competitions voted for the trio from a list of 15.

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was fourth on the ballot and just missed out.

The award will be presented on August 25 during the draw for the Champions League group stage.

Real won the Spanish Liga and the Champions League.

Benzema was named Champions League Player of the Season after scoring 15 goals in the competition, including three in Real’s semi-final victory over Manchester City.

When he scored Real’s second goal against Frankfurt on Wednesday in the European Supercup, Benzema became the club’s second-highest scorer in history with 324 goals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Courtois was spectacular as Real edged Liverpool 1-0 in the final and was named player of the match.

De Bruyne made the shortlist for the third straight year after inspiring City to the Premier League title.

Jorginho won the title last year after winning the Champions League with Chelsea and the delayed Euro 2020 with Italy.

UEFA also announced the three nominees for coach of the year

They are Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, Man City’s Josep Guardiola, and the man they had to beat to win their biggest titles last season: Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp.

AFP