Since 2017, UEFA has given out five players' awards aimed at recognising the top performers in UEFA club competitions each season. These accolades are presented alongside the annual UEFA Men's Player of the Year and UEFA Women's Player of the Year awards in Monaco each August.

Goalkeeper of the UEFA Champions League season



2018/19: Alisson Becker (Liverpool and Brazil)

2017/18: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid and Costa Rica)

2016/17: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus and Italy)

Defender of the UEFA Champions League season



2018/19: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool and Netherlands)

2017/18: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)

2016/17: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)

Midfielder of the UEFA Champions League season



2018/19: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax and Netherlands)

2017/18: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid and Croatia)

2016/17: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid and Croatia)

Forward of the UEFA Champions League season



2018/19: Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)

2017/18: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)

2016/17: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)

UEFA Europa League Player of the season



2018/19: Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Belgium)

2017/18: Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid and France)

2016/17: Paul Pogba (Manchester United and France)

Other awards

The five competition-specific prizes complement the existing UEFA Men's and Women's Player of the Year awards. These are for all players who have played in Europe and are based on performances during the previous season across all competitions, both domestically and internationally, at club and national-team levels.

How voting works

The jury for the awards consists of coaches of clubs in the relevant group stages of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, together with 55 journalists from the European Sports Media (ESM) group representing each of UEFA's member associations. Coaches are not allowed to vote for players from their own team.