Real Madrid ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA's Best Player in Europe Award beating Bayern Munich pair Manuel Neuer and Arjen Robben to the title.
Portugal captain Ronaldo scored a record 17 goals to help Real win the Champions League last season. He said that he is really happy so he must say thanks to his teammates because without the team, individual awards would not be possible.
Ronaldo beat Neuer and Robben in a vote from a panel of 54 journalists. Goalkeeper Neuer helped Germany win the World Cup, while Robben scored 21 goals for Bayern and three for the Netherlands on their way to the semi-final in Brazil, The BBC reported.
Ronaldo scored a hattrick as Portugal beat play-off opponents Sweden to reach the tournament, but failed to shine as his nation were eliminated at the group stage.
However, his club performances were enough to convince the voting panel, which had to choose from the trio after a shortlist of 10 was cut down earlier this month.
The former Manchester United player scored 51 goals in as many games as Real became European champions for a record 10th time to complete 'La Decima'. Carlo Ancelotti's men also won the Spanish Copa del Rey but finished third in La Liga.
Ronaldo said that winning La Decima was amazing, something that Real had looked to do for many years. He added that as Real players they feel as though they have to win the Champions League.
The ace striker said that it was a fantastic season, they won the Champions League, the Spanish Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. He also said that their target is to win it again the Champions League, the Cup the League, everything.
The rest of the top 10 was already decided after the first round of voting and included former Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.
The top 10 players to win UEFA's Best Player award in Europe are
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Manuel Neuer
3. Arjen Robben
4. Thomas Muller
5. Philipp Lahm, Lionel Messi
7. James Rodriguez
8. Luis Suarez
9. Angel Di Maria
10.
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