Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo nominated for UEFA Europe award

European football governing body UEFA has named the three finalists for the 2012 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. The trio of Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who all play in Spain, have made it to the final list and the winner would be announced on August 30 in Monaco.

Defending champion Lionel Messi, who won last years inaugural award, had an exceptional campaign scoring an incredible 50 goals, 14 of those coming in the UEFA Champions League which is a new record. Cristiano Ronaldo also scored an impressive 46 goals which won Real Madrid their first Spanish La Liga title in years, but the UEFA Champions League remains elusive to the record champions for over a decade now. Barca midfielder Andrés Iniesta is the third amongst the finalists, a team mate of Messi and a key player for Spain in their Euro2012 winning campaign.

It is interesting to note that no player from UEFA Champions League champions Chelsea FC and beaten finalist FC Bayern Munich made it into the top three with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba coming seventh and his club mate Petr Cech as joint eighth within the top 10.

The top three will now go into a deciding vote in Monaco during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw on 30 August. In Monaco the journalists will vote live, via an electronic system, for their best player from the shortlist of the final three.

Positions four to ten are already finalised after each journalist provided a list of their top five players, with the first receiving five points, the second four points and so on:

4. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, ITALY) (90 points)
5. Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona, SPAIN) (57 pts)
6. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF, SPAIN) (53 pts)
7. Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC; IVORY COAST) (31 pts)
8. Petr Cech (Chelsea FC, CZECH REPUBLIC) // Falcao (Club Atlético de Madrid, COLOMBIA) (14 pts)
10. Mesut Özil (Real Madrid CF, GERMANY) (10 pts)