Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the UEFA Player of the Year after he helped Real Madrid win the Champions League for a second successive time last season.
Cristiano Ronaldo was shortlisted along with Gianluigi Buffon and Lionel Messi for the award, which was created in 2011.
Ronaldo’s outstanding performances helped Los Blancos to become the first club to retain the Champions League trophy.
He scored five goals in the quarterfinal victory over Bayern Munich, with a hat trick in the second leg at the Bernabeu.
Another treble followed in the first leg of the semifinal against Atletico Madrid, and two more goals came in the final success over Juventus.
Barcelona’s Messi scored 54 goals for his club, but they had only the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey to show for their efforts.
Buffon, 39, was the losing goalkeeper as Madrid beat Juventus in the Champions League final in Cardiff, but helped his club to an Italian Double.
