Cristiano Ronaldo wins UEFA Player of the Year #UCLdraw
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA Player of the Year ahead of Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Buffon during a gala ceremony in Monaco.
The awards were presented in conjunction with the draw for the 2017-18 Champions League, in which Ronaldo’s Real Madrid will be going for a third title on the bounce.
The Portuguese is currently serving a five-match ban after pushing the referee in Real’s Spanish Super Cup first leg.
But he starred with a sensational goal on Wednesday night in a friendly against Fiorentina.
Buffon didn’t go empty handed, with the Juventus goalkeeper winning one of four new Champions League position awards.
Ronaldo’s Real team-mate Sergio Ramos won the defender of the year.
Midfielder of the year was Croatian Luka Modric, another Real player as the club were rewarded for their unprecedented Champions League title defence in Cardiff.
Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo won forward of the year.
Dutch midfielder Lieke Martens, whose Holland side won the Euros, won the Women’s footballer of the year.