Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are finalists for the UEFA player of the year award in 2013. However, the third finalist is Frenchman Franck Ribery and he could be poised to steal the spotlight from the two superstars.
Ronaldo and Messi are each competing as finalists for the third straight year of the competition. The UEFA player of the year award inaugurated in 2011 and featured a final three of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo. That year featured a plethora of trophies for Barcelona, including the Champions league and Spanish league titles. In 2012, Andres Iniesta took the top prize, while Messi settled for second and Ronaldo came in third. Real Madrid won the Spanish league title, but Iniesta guided Spain to the Euro Cup 2012 title. Messi finished the 2011-12 season with 50 goals in Spanish league play, five better than Ronaldo.
This year featured equally strong performances from Messi and Ronaldo. The Argentinean finished the 2012-13 season with 60 goals for Barcelona, including 46 in Spanish league play. He also scored eight goals in the Champions league. Meanwhile, Ronaldo finished the 2012-13 season as the leading scorer in the Champions league with 12 goals and scored 55 times for Real Madrid throughout the season. He already has 34 goals in 2012-13 in official matches.
However, Ribery enters the fray with a major chance to steal the spotlight. The Frenchman enters the contest with far fewer goals in 2012-13. He only scored 10 in Bundesliga play and only added one during Bayern Munich's Champions league run. However, Iniesta won it last year with few goals to his credit; he scored none during the Euro Cup run. Furthermore, Ribery was part of the treble winning Bayern Munich side, an honor that should not be overlooked.
The award is voted on by reporters and was initiated in 2011.