Cristiano Ronaldo Named UEFA Men’s Player Of The Year

Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the prize ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The four times world best footballer has been named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year for a second consecutive season.

The Real Madrid forward saw off competition from Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to claim the award for the third time overall.

Ronaldo struck 25 goals in La Liga last term, and 12 in 13 matches during Real Madrid’s Champions League-winning campaign.

Previous winners of the award include Messi and Barca team-mate Andres Iniesta, who claimed the prize in the 2011-12 campaign ahead of the argentina international in second.

Elsewhere, Buffon was named the goalkeeper of the season, Sergio Ramos the top defender, and Luka Modric the best midfielder, while Ronaldo was also named UEFA forward of the year, beating Paulo Dybala and, again, Messi for the award.

Congratulations @Cristiano Ronaldo, UEFA Men's Player of the Year 2016/17! 🏆 👏👏👏#TheUEFAawards #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/c5hp96ZgBy
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2017

Congratulations @gianluigibuffon, #UCL Goalkeeper of the Season 2016/17! 👏👏👏#TheUEFAawards pic.twitter.com/S6wJ7fIlq5
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2017

Congratulations @lm19official, #UCL Midfielder of the Season 2016/17! 👏👏👏#TheUEFAawards #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/EdIeqQ3wNF
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2017

Women’s Player of the Year went to Lieke Martens of Barcelona, who topped Pernille Harder of Wolfsburg and Dzsenifer Marozsán of Lyon.