Ronaldo, but not Messi, named for 'Best Player in Europe' award final three
Messi and Luis Suarez are probably feeling a bit disrespected
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1 min read
The finalists for the Best Player in Europe Award have been named, and Lionel Messi is nowhere to be found. For the 2015/16 season, all three players come from clubs in the Spanish capital, as Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale join Ateltico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann.
Journalists from Europe voted, and those were the top three after having 10 to choose from. Even crazier, Messi wasn't fourth. That went to Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez. Messi was fifth in voting.
Ronaldo won the Champions League with Real Madrid and Euro 2016 with Portugal, scoring 35 times in the league, 16 times in the Champions League and three times at Euro. He is the clear-cut favorite to wint the award.
Bale won the same trophy with Real Madrid as Ronaldo, scoring 19 goals and recording 10 assists. He also had three goals at Euro 2016 as surprise Wales made the semis.
As for Griezmann, no trophies but he scored 22 times in the league, seven times in the Champions League and six times at Euro 2016 as France made the final.
The final 3 players nominated for best player in Europe 2015/16:
— SocialRMadrid (@Socia1RMadrid) August 5, 2016
•Cristiano Ronaldo
•Bale
•Griezmann pic.twitter.com/2wYuZxQ20V
One could argue that Messi and Suarez should have joined Ronaldo in the final three. Messi scored 41 goals for Barcelona last season winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey, while also leading Argentina to another cup final, losing the Copa America to Chile in June. Of course, that's not Europe, and voters probably took that into consideration, where playing at Euro probably boosted the chances of the final trio. Suarez on the other hand was maybe the biggest snub. The Uruguayan scored 59 goals in 53 matches for Barcelona last season.
The award will be given out on August 26. Messi won it last year. Ronaldo won it the year before.
Who's your pick?
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