Cristiano Ronaldo wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award 2017
The Real Madrid striker beat the other short-listed players, Leo Messi and Gianluigi Buffon, to the award. Lieke Martens won the Women's Award.
Cristiano Ronaldo has won UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award 2017. The Real Madrid striker was recognised with the prize at the Champions League Group Stage draw ceremony held in Monaco on Thursday 24 August. Ronaldo also picked up the best forward award.
Lieke Martens, the 24 year old Dutch forward, who recently joined Barcelona, won the Women's Player of the Year trophy, coming in ahead of Pernille Harder and Dzsenifer Marozsán.
Ronaldo beats Buffon and Messi
The Real Madrid striker beat the other two short-listed candidates, Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus) and Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) to the title.
The award recognises the best player, irrespective of nationality, playing for a club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the past season. Players are judged on all their performances throughout the season though: domestic, continental and international.
Outstanding season with Real Madrid
This is Ronaldo's third win, having previously picked up the trophy in 2013/14 and last season, 2015/16. The Real Madrid player won four titles with Real Madrid last season, one of the club's greatest ever in terms of titles, winning the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup, LaLiga and the Champions League, the first time any club had won back to back Champions League titles. Ronaldo scored twice in the Champions League final, as the culmination of an impressive run of form late on in the season.
Player of the Year Award jury
The award was decided by a jury of the 80 coaches of the clubs which participated in the group stage of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, along with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA's member associations.
Other awards
The other awards given at the event were:
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Defender: Sergio Ramos
Midfielder: Luka Modric
Forward: Ronaldo
Women's Player of the Year: Lieke Martens
