Neymar snubbed from Champions League awards shortlist hours after £200m move to Paris Saint-Germain
Brazilian forward omitted from list in favour of former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi
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Your support makes all the difference.Neymar has been omitted from the Champions League end of season awards just hours after completing his world record £200m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
Uefa announced three-man shortlists for best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward for the 2016/17 season ahead of the Champions League play-off round draw on Friday morning.
The world's most expensive player was conspicuous by his absence.
Some sections of the Spanish press believe Barcelona's historic comeback against PSG was the moment Neymar decided to leave the Catalan giants.
The Brazilian forward almost single-handedly turned the tie around in the second-leg, curling in a free-kick, winning and then scoring a penalty, before chipping the perfectly-weighted assist for Sergi Roberto's last minute winner.
Nevertheless, it was Neymar's teammate Lionel Messi who won all the plaudits, with a photograph of the Argentine maestro celebrating with Barca fans becoming the iconic shot of that night.
For some, the move to the French capital is seen as an attempt to step out from Messi's shadow.
It may therefore rankle with Neymar that he was once again overlooked in favour of his more celebrated former teammate on Uefa's list.
Messi, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus playmaker Paulo Dybala were chosen as the best forwards.
The players were picked by a jury comprising coaches from the 32 clubs involved in last season's competition alongside one journalist from each of Uefa's 55 associations.
You can see the full shortlist below:
GK:
- Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus
- Jan Oblak, Atletico Madrid
- Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich
Defender:
- Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus
- Marcelo, Real Madrid
- Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid
Midfielder:
- Casemiro, Real Madrid
- Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
- Luka Modric, Real Madrid
Forward:
- Paulo Dybala, Juventus
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
The winner of each award will be announced at the draw for the Champions League group stage on 24 August.
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