Lieke Martens has been named UEFA Women’s Player of the Year 2016/17 at a ceremony which took place during the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.
The UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 winner, who recently signed for FC Barcelona from FC Rosengård, claimed a total of 95 points. VfL Wolfsburg and Denmark striker Pernille Harder came second with 81 points, and Olympique Lyonnais and Germany midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsán was third with 47 points.
The jury was composed of the 16 coaches of the teams which participated in the recent UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 in the Netherlands, together with the eight coaches of the clubs which participated in the quarter-finals of the 2016/17 UEFA Women’s Champions League, along with 20 journalists specialised in women’s football and selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group. The final result was based on the total number of points from the votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.
Receiving the award on stage, 24-year-old Martens said:
“This is so amazing. It’s a big honour, I’m really proud of it, but without my team-mates I couldn’t have achieved this. I’m really thankful for everything. I’m speechless. I’m really happy, thank you.”
Real Madrid CF forward Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year 2016/17 at the Monaco ceremony. The Portuguese forward, the chief architect of his club’s unprecedented second consecutive UEFA Champions League title last season, wins this award for the third time after being named UEFA Best Player in Europe in 2013/14 and 2015/16.
The voting jury was composed of the 80 coaches of the clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists selected by the ESM group, representing each of UEFA’s member associations. The final result was based on the total number of points from the votes cast by the coaches and the journalists.
The Portuguese international collected a total of 482 points, with FC Barcelona and Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi (141 points) and Juventus FC and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (109 points) occupying second and third place respectively.
Receiving the award on stage, 32-year-old Ronaldo said:
“I’m so glad to be here and honoured to win this trophy again. I have to say thank you to my team-mates and congrats to them too; I’m so happy for them, and for the national team too. I know it’s not a trophy for the national team, but I have to say it because when I go to the national team, they always give me the motivation to carry on and work hard all the time. I’m blessed. I’m so happy. To the supporters of Real Madrid, to everyone who has helped me achieve this trophy, I’m so glad and so happy. Thank you to everyone.”
The UEFA Player of the Year awards are based on players’ performances during the 2016/17 season in all competitions, both domestic and international, and at club and national team levels.
Meanwhile, four players were presented with the new UEFA Champions League positional awards during the 2017/18 Champions League group stage draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
The voting jury for these awards was comprised of the coaches of the 32 clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League, together with 55 journalists selected by the ESM group. The final result was based on the total number of points from the votes cast by the coaches and journalists.
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus FC) was crowned Best Goalkeeper of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season, amassing a total of 342 points and finishing ahead of Jan Oblak (Slovenia, Club Atlético de Madrid) with 128 points, and Manuel Neuer (Germany, FC Bayern München) with 105 points.
Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid CF) was named Best Defender of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season with a total of 206 points. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy, Juventus FC, now at AC Milan) with 150 points and Marcelo (Brazil, Real Madrid CF) with 109 points occupied second and third place respectively.
Luka Modrić (Croatia – Real Madrid CF) was chosen as Best Midfielder of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season, picking up a total of 225 points, while Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid CF) with 164 points and Casemiro (Brazil, Real Madrid CF) with 38 points finished in second and third place respectively.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid CF) was named Best Forward of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season, claiming a total of 359 points. Lionel Messi (Argentina, FC Barcelona) came second with 147 points, and Paulo Dybala (Argentina, Juventus FC) was third with 64 points.
Finally, during the Monaco ceremony, Italian and European football legend Francesco Totti was presented with the 2017 UEFA President’s Award by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin for his outstanding career and services to football at both national and club level.
