Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi set to fight for Uefa's best European player gong - as Will Grigg ties with Paul Pogba

Uefa have revealed their nominations for the continent’s best player - with a few surprises

Will Grigg may be on fire but he did not play for Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 (Getty)

Will Grigg’s cult status continues to blaze after the Wigan Athletic striker was named by Uefa as the joint 25^th best player in Europe, level with Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.

The European governing body have revealed their nominations for the title of the continent’s best player, featuring usual suspects Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, in a list including new entries Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.

The Leicester City pair were in scintillating form as the Foxes stunned the football community to lift the Premier League title, defying 5,000/1 odds, and both are placed above former team-mate N’Golo Kante, who joined Chelsea for £30m on Saturday.

The list, compiled by journalists from across Europe, puts Wigan’s 28-goal hero Grigg level with Juventus centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin and Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

But the biggest surprise is the parity he shares with Pogba, said to be in the process of securing a world-record £100m transfer back to Manchester United after leaving Old Trafford on Sir Alex Ferguson’s watch in 2012.

Journalists were asked to rank their personal five best players across the entirety of last season and the top 10, as yet unranked, will be settled in August as a judging panel decides who will be crowned Europe’s best footballer.

Messi is the holder of that title but an indifferent season blighted by injury and off-field strife means it is unlikely to Argentine will retain the honour, especially after the Champions League and European Championship winning exploits of rival Ronaldo.

The Uefa top 30 best players in Europe
Top 10 (alphabetical order, decided next month)
Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus
Antoine Grezmann, Atletico Madrid
Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Thomas Muller, Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich
Pepe, Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Luis Suarez, Barcelona
11-30 best players in Europe
11. Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
12. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
13. Dimitri Payet, West Ham United
14. Jerome Boateng, Bayern Munich
15. Arturo Vidal, Bayern Munich
16. Luka Modric, Real Madrid
17. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
18. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United
19= Eden Hazard, Chelsea
19= Andreas Iniesta, Barcelona
19= Neymar, Barcelona
19= Renato Sanches, Bayern Munich
23. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
24. Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli
25= Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus
25= Diego Godin, Atletico Madrid
25= Will Grigg, Wigan Athletic
25= Paul Pogba, Juventus
25= Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur
30= Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
30= Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund
30= Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City
30= Kevin Gameiro, Sevilla
30= Grzegorz Krychowiak, Paris Saint-Germain
30= Blaise Matuidi, Paris Saint-Germain
30= Georges-Kevin N'Koudou, Marseille
30= Jan Oblak, Atletico Madrid

Elsewhere in the top 10 are Gareth Bale, the Madrid forward, his club team-mate Toni Kroos, Juventus shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon and Atletico winger Antoine Griezmann.

Bayern Munich pair Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer also feature while Pepe, the Madrid defender, and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez join Messi and Ronaldo to complete the list of candidates with a shot to win the award.