Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić has won the Midfielder of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season award.
Modrić is the first player to win the award, which has been introduced by UEFA to recognise the top midfielder in Europe’s premier club competition each season.
Modrić received the accolade during Thursday’s UEFA Champions League group stage draw, with the best goalkeeper, defender and forward accolades also being handed over in Monaco.
The man who makes Madrid tick, Modrić was his usual metronomic self throughout the club’s historic 2016/17 campaign. Not only did Zinédine Zidane’s team become the first in the UEFA Champions League era to retain the trophy, they also won their first league title in five years in a silverware-laden season.
Modrić’s 2016/17 in numbers
Honours: UEFA Champions League, Spanish Liga, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup
Appearances: 11
Minutes: 983
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Domestic league
Appearances: 25
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
How Modrić was chosen
The jury was composed of the coaches of the 32 clubs in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage, together with 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, representing each of UEFA’s member associations. The coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own teams.
Jury members selected their top three players per position, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. The player who received the most points in each category was named the winner.
Source: uefa.com
