The UEFA Best Player in Europe Award is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a football club in Europe that is considered the best in the previous season. The award, created in 2011 by UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

, is aimed at reviving the European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or), which was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or

FIFA Ballon d'Or

The FIFA Ballon d'Or is an association football award given annually to the player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous season...

. It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year

The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of the European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward," was given at the end of each season at a special gala...

 award.

The inaugural award was won by Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...

 in 2011.

Criteria

According to UEFA, the award "recognise[s] the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the previous season." Players are judged by their performances in all competitions, domestic and international, and at club and national team levels throughout the season.

Voting

The award's voting format is a return to the old Ballon d'Or, which was decided purely by journalists.

In the first round of voting, 53 sports journalists representing each of the UEFA national associations provide a list of their three best-ranked players from one to three, with the first player receiving five points, the second three points and the third one point. The three players with the most points overall are shortlisted.

The final vote, also by the journalists, then takes place live via electronic voting during the presentation ceremony.

Winners

      Winner       Shortlisted

2010–11

Rank	Player	First round	Final round	Team
1	Lionel Messi Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...	–	39	Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
2	Xavi Hernández Xavi Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career....	–	11	Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
3	Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...	–	3	Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
4	Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....	33	–	Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
5	Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate , commonly known simply as Falcao, is a Colombian football striker who currently plays for Atlético Madrid....	17	–	Porto
6	Wayne Rooney Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...	15	–	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
7	Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidic Nemanja Vidić is a Serbian footballer who captains English Premier League club Manchester United. He was part of the Serbia national football team from 2002 to 2011....	5	–	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
8	Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimovic Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....	4	–	Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
9	Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping...	4	–	Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
10	Manuel Neuer Manuel Neuer Manuel Neuer is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bayern Munich and the German national football team.-Schalke 04:Neuer signed professional terms in 2005 after progressing through every age group at his hometown club. He made his Bundesliga debut when he came on to substitute the...	3	–	Schalke 04 FC Schalke 04 Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...