Cristiano Ronaldo has been named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year for a second consecutive season.
The Real Madrid forward saw off competition from Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to claim the UEFA award for the third time overall.
Ronaldo struck 25 goals in La Liga last term, and 12 in 13 matches during Real Madrid’s Champions League-winning campaign.
Congratulations @Cristiano Ronaldo, UEFA Men’s Player of the Year 2016/17! 🏆 👏👏👏#TheUEFAawards #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/c5hp96ZgBy
— #UCLdraw (@ChampionsLeague) August 24, 2017
Previous winners of the award include Messi and Barca team-mate Andres Iniesta, who claimed the prize in the 2011-12 campaign ahead of the Argentina international in second.
Elsewhere, Buffon was named the goalkeeper of the season, Sergio Ramos the top defender, and Luka Modric the best midfielder, while Ronaldo was also named forward of the year.
The gifted front-runner has enjoyed a remarkable goalscoring career, finding the net 530 times in 721 matches overall.
He has scored 407 goals in 396 appearances for Madrid – including 90 goals in 88 UEFA Champions League outings.
His 15 goals in 52 Champions League appearances for United mean that he is the overall top scorer in Champions League history.
He has top-scored in the competition, either jointly or outright, a record six times – including for a record five consecutive campaigns.
Ronaldo has also netted 75 times in 143 appearances for Portugal, and was an inspirational figure in the team that won the UEFA EURO 2016 title in France last year.
