Fresh company has emerged for holder Cristiano Ronaldo after the 2017/18 UEFA Player of the Year’s three nominees were announced on Monday night.
Three-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo’s stellar exploits for Real Madrid – before this summer’s defection to Juventus – and Portugal maintained his status as the only ever-present in the final reckoning, since 2010/11’s inaugural running.
But rather than usual nemesis Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina, new faces were present. These were former club-mate and Croatia metronome Luka Modric, plus Liverpool and Egypt’s unstoppable Mohamed Salah.
The winner is set to be announced on August 30 in Monaco, prior to the UEFA Champions League’s group-stage draw. But we’ve had a look at the trio’s outstanding campaigns and tried to pick out who we think deserves the continent’s top individual gong.
LUKA MODRIC
A new appreciation emerged in 2017/18 for one of football’s most-refined talents.
Modric has long been the conductor for club and country from centre midfield.
Particularly for Madrid, this came in a deferential role to the irrepressible Ronaldo. Yet much of the credit for 2017/18’s third-successive UEFA Champions League was handed to Modric.
Where partners Toni Kroos and Casemiro floundered early on, the 32-year-old was a beacon of consistency.
The squat support act’s ascension to centre stage accelerated at World Cup 2018. As the pivotal figure for Croatia as skipper, the 32-year-old’s comfort in possession and desire to accept responsibility guided Zlatko Dalic’s underdogs to defeat in the final against France.
Apt reward came with FIFA’s Golden Ball, for player of the tournament.
It was a similar story in the Champions League. Wales forward Gareth Bale struck twice in the final and Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius endured a personal disaster, though it was Modric’s artistry which ensured the Premier League side were kept, largely, at arm’s length.
Honours: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FIFA World Cup runner-up
Appearances: 59
Goals: 5
Win percentage: 59.3
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Punishing consistency had come to define Ronaldo throughout his ground-breaking career.
This image was maintained at continental and international levels. But in La Liga, ‘CR7’ rode a rollercoaster.
Hampered by an early suspension, he struck just once in his first eight top-flight appearances as Madrid’s title defence floundered.
In contrast, his final 14 matches produced 22 strikes.
These trademark flourishes were found with frequency elsewhere, in yet another campaign laden with goals, records and trophies.
Ronaldo’s perfect free-kick against Brazil’s Gremio in Abu Dhabi ensured the FIFA Club World Cup was retained.
In the Champions League, the 33-year-old forward became the first man in the competition’s history to net in 11-straight games.
This run would consequentially continue in the semi-finals against future employers, Juve. One of football’s great goals was produced with Turin’s bicycle kick, a place in the final then being earned in nerveless and dramatic fashion thanks to a deciding 93rd-minute penalty in the return leg.
A hat-trick against Spain when World Cup 2018 began was the last personal highlight of another bravura season.
Honours: UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
Appearances: 56
Goals: 48
Win percentage: 62.5
MOHAMED SALAH
A superstar was born at Anfield in 2017/18.
Salah arrived there that June off the back of another fine season for Roma, but with doubts to assuage after a miserable short spell at Chelsea earlier in his career.
Any questions were emphatically answered by the Egypt forward.
The 26-year-old would go on to notch 44 times for his new outfit, coming just three shy of the legendary Ian Rush’s club-record seasonal benchmark. His 32 Premier League efforts also broke the division’s individual season record.
Only an early – and controversial – shoulder injury during defeat in the Champions League showpiece caused by a collision with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos can sully any memories.
This would impact a World Cup campaign he earned with October’s 95th-minute penalty against DR Congo. This ended an expectant nation’s 28-year wait to compete.
Again, the shoulder problem would cast a shadow. But in two Group A-defeats, he struck twice when clearly unfit.
Salah became the poster boy for manager Jurgen Klopp’s relentless Reds and the crown jewel in an electric front line. Majestic goals against Roma and Manchester City in Europe showcased a talent of rare aplomb.
Honours: UEFA Champions League runner-up
Appearances: 58
Goals: 50
Win percentage: 51.7
VERDICT
Three outstanding candidates, but only one UEFA award to win.
Salah was unstoppable in 2017/18, though a failure to lift any silverware counts against him in this rarefied arena.
Ronaldo was, again, the most-productive performer for the continent’s s champion club. It would be unfair, however, not to overlook his domestic travails in the opening half of the campaign.
This leaves Modric. When Madrid stuttered out the blocks, he valiantly tried to lift them back to their best.
At the World Cup, he was unquestionably the globe’s great performer. Qualification enough to be rightly considered as UEFA’s Player of the Year.
