WHO WILL WIN?

Messi, Ronaldo or Iniesta? Sportsmail assesses the contenders for European Player of the Year

The 32-strong long list has been painstakingly whittled down to just three and on Thursday evening we will discover who was the best player in Europe last season.

The three shortlisted – Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – have already beaten off competition from some of the finest footballers on the continent – and the bizarrely included Les Davies, of Welsh side Bangor.

And as part of the glittering Champions League group stage draw in Monaco, we will discover which of the stellar trio will receive the prestigious accolade.

The award - renamed the Best Player in Europe Award last year to replace the Club Footballer of the Year gong previously bestowed on David Beckham, Kaka and Zinedine Zidane among others - is currently in the possession of Messi, who won by a landslide 12 months ago.

All three finalists have a strong claim and Sportsmail presents the argument for each.

And the winner is... Andres Iniesta (left), Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) and Lionel Messi are shortlisted for UEFA European Player of the Year

 

Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)

2011-2012: Appearances for Barcelona 47, Goals for Barcelona 8, Appearances for Spain 13, Goals for Spain 1

Trophies won: Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa, UEFA European Championships, UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament

Barcelona’s puppet-master started the season acknowledged as one of the greatest players of the moment and ended it with a claim to be among the greatest of all time.

His inauguration as the best player at the European Championships was popularly acclaimed, reflecting the Europe and World-wide admiration for a modest and unassuming character who has shone on the highest of stages.

His former manager at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, neatly summed up his midfield master: ‘Iniesta doesn’t dye his hair, he doesn’t wear earrings and he hasn’t got any tattoos. Maybe that makes him unattractive to the media but he is the best.’

Puppet-master: Iniesta still manages to get his pass away despite the attentions of Markel Bergara Larranaga (left) and Asier Illamendi in Barcelona's opening La Liga game with Real Sociedad

At 28, he has five La Liga titles, three European Cups, a World Cup and two European Championships and with that haul a rightful claim to be considered by history alongside Zidane as the greatest to come from this continent in the modern era.

In fact, Zidane heaped praise on his ‘successor’ during the tournament: ‘Iniesta is really impressing me. He reminds me of myself. But he is more pale than me.’ An observation about Iniesta's white complexion, which has earned him the nickname 'Pale Knight.'

One man band: Iniesta charges at the Italian defence during the Euro 2012 group game in Gdansk. He was named Player of the Tournament after guiding Spain to their third successive major tournament win

If not for his excellence in Poland and Ukraine, it would have been considered a disappointing season for Iniesta in that Barcelona fell short in La Liga and the Champions League. This was despite his phenomenal consistency in pulling Barcelona’s strings across 47 games.

But his performances in that glorious month for Spain are good reason enough for Iniesta to win this award.

Video of Iniesta's goals and assists for Barcelona last season

Video of Iniesta at Euro 2012

 

Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2011-2012: Appearances for Barcelona 60, Goals for Barcelona 73, Appearances for Argentina 10 Goals for Argentina 11

Trophies won: Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercopa , FIFA Ballon d’Or

The statistics say it all – 84 goals in 70 outings for club and country on just about every continent of the world, Lionel Messi sent records tumbling on an almost weekly basis during a fantasy season.

There is very little that hasn’t been said or written about the Argentine, and no superlative has been left unused, but 2011-2012 was the season Messi left his indelible imprint on the history of the game.

He became Barcelona’s second highest all-time goalscorer, the highest scorer in a season in Spain and then Europe, the top scorer in the Champions League for the fourth consecutive season and the first to score five in a Champions League match since its inception in 1992. The list goes on.

Euro Star: Lionel Messi celebrates the second of his two goals against AC Milan in the quarter-final of the Champions League last season

And what’s even more frightening about the player who apparently has everything is that Messi is 25 and, by common footballing logic, approaching the peak of his career.  

But his epic goalscoring feats – not to mention the record 29 assists for his teammates - returned just a Copa del Rey medal as Real Madrid finally reasserted themselves as Spain’s premier team.

Before Christmas, he was rightly recognised as the finest player in the world, winning the Ballon d’Or for the second successive year. Logically, this European award should follow.

Quick out the blocks: Messi already has five goals in his first three games this season, including two against Osasuna last weekend

It remains to be seen whether Messi will continue to be so devastating in the post-Pep Guardiola era though admittedly the early signs look good – he already has five goals in three matches this season, the kind of ratio he was able to maintain throughout last year.

And there are very few football lovers around the world who don’t want that to happen.

All Messi's goals and assists from 2011-2012 in one video

 

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2011-2012: Appearances for Real Madrid 55, Goals for Real Madrid 60, Appearances for Portugal 14, Goals for Portugal 8

Trophies won: La Liga

At the end of last season, when cradling his first La Liga medal, Ronaldo claimed that he’d played better than his nemesis Messi all year.

‘Some people say I’m better,’ he said. ‘Other people say it’s him, but at the end of the day, they’re going to decide who is the best player at the moment, which I think is me.’

Well, as football’s awards season approaches, they are going to decide which is better and Ronaldo has as strong a claim as his rival. In any other season in history, his 60 goals and dozen assists for Real Madrid would have been lauded as an unprecedented achievement. But then there is Messi.

Shot across the bows: Ronaldo landed an early blow in his team's battle with Barcelona and his personal duel with Lionel Messi when he scored in the Super Cup first leg last week

At least Ronaldo could take satisfaction in beating Barcelona to the Spanish championship, though another Champions League crown eluded him.

And the European Championships would frustrate him further. Ronaldo carried his team through to the semi-finals but the tournament he thought would immortalise him ended in ignominy as he didn’t get his kick in the shoot-out with Spain.

Disbelief: Ronaldo's Euro 2012 ended in immense disappointment as Portugal crashed out on penalties to Spain at the semi-final stage

While he may rue the passing of another chance to achieve on the international stage, Real will be desperate to prove that their Spanish superiority is a proper power shift rather than a Barcelona off-season.

Ronaldo was third in this award last season, collecting a measly three votes, but in the ensuing 12 months he has become a player of even greater importance to both his club and country.

All aboard the showboat! Ronaldo trickery 2011-2012