Five Liga BBVA players among the best on the continent

Five 2013/14 and 2014/15 Liga BBVA players are among the best players in Europe and all of them have a chance to win UEFA’s 2013/14 Best Player in Europe Award.

The list includes two players who won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid CF, Ángel Di María and Cristiano Ronaldo, one finalist and Liga BBVA champion with Club Atlético de Madrid, Diego Costa, and a FIFA World Cup finalist, Lionel Messi, the FC Barcelona player. The select group also includes the Azulgranas’ brand new signing, Luis Suárez.

The list is completed by three of Germany’s world champions, Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer, one of the World Cup’s most acclaimed players, Dutchman Arjen Robben, and the tournament’s top goal-scorer: Colombian AS Monaco FC player, James Rodríguez.

The panel of judges is made up of journalists, who have chosen five players from a list of 35 as the best in Europe last season. On 28 August, at the draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the name of the player who has been voted the best in Europe will be announced.

The Liga BBVA also dominates the list of 35, with as many as eleven of its players included. The Liga BBVA is the best represented league thanks to Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, Arda Turan, Diego Godín, Koke Resurrección, Neymar, Javier Mascherano, Ivan Rakitić and the recently signed Toni Kroos.

This is the fourth time the accolade has been awarded and on two of the previous three occasions the winner was a player from the Spanish competition: Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi. Last year’s winner was Frank Ribéry of FC Bayern München.