OREANDA-NEWS. Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Bayern Munich striker and goalkeeper Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Manuel Neuer (Germany) are among the top three contenders for the 2019/20 UEFA Player of the Year Award. This follows from the organization’s official website.

The three nominees were selected by a jury of 80 coaches from clubs participating in the 2019/20 Champions League and Europa League, as well as 55 journalists. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their teams’ football players.

The awards will be presented at the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League group stage draw on October 1.

Media note that for the first time in the history of the award, Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) or Lionel Messi (Barcelona) were not among the final three applicants for the prize. From 2010, Ronaldo has been among the final three nominees every year; Messi has been among them six times.