Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland And Kevin De Bruyne Confirmed As Top Three In UEFA Men's Player Of The Year Vote

The 2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award will be won by either Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne. Ilkay Gundogan came fourth in the vote.

The 2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award will be won by either Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne.

Those players were confirmed as the final three nominees on Thursday when the rest of the top 11 was revealed.

Ilkay Gundogan finished fourth in the vote with 129 points, ahead of Rodri and Kylian Mbappe with 110 and 82 points respectively.

The other players that had received votes were Luka Modric (33pts), Marcelo Brozovic (20pts), Declan Rice (14pts), Alexis Mac Allister (12pts) and Jesus Navas (6pts).

Lionel Messi has been nominated for the 2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award after captaining Argentina to glory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup :: IMAGO/Agencia MexSport/Jorge Martinez

How Does Voting Work For The UEFA Men's Player Of The Year Award?

An initial shortlist of players was drafted by the UEFA technical study group based on their performances for club and country during the 2022/23 season.

Jury members then each got to vote for their top three players by allocating five points, three points and one point respectively.

The jury included the head coach of each club that had competed in the group stage of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League.

National team head coaches from UEFA member nations also got to vote, as did a group of journalists selected by the European Sports Media.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for a player from their own team.

When Will The Winner Be Announced?

De Bruyne, Messi or Haaland will be presented with the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award on August 31.

The award winner will be announced during the Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Monaco.

Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland are also among the final three nominees after helping Manchester City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League :: IMAGO/ANP Sport/Maurice van Steen