Messi, Ronaldo, Van Dijk & De Ligt lead nominees for 18/19 UCL Positional Awards

The three-man shortlists for each 2018/19 positional award have been revealed.

Liverpool dominate the positional award shortlists for the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season, with five of their players making the cut following their success in the Madrid final.

Two of the Reds' impressive back four, plus goalkeeeper Alisson Becker, are in contention along with captain Jordan Henderson and forward Sadio Mané.

Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen are rewarded with places on the list after Tottenham's run to the final, while two players who lit up last season's competition with Ajax are also in the running – albeit Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong have since moved to Juventus and Barcelona respectively.

Positional award nominees for 18/19 UCL

Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Liverpool), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax, now Juventus), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax, now Barcelona), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)

Forwards: Sadio Mané (Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

There are three nominees per position, with the winners to be announced during the 2019/20 group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday 29 August.

What are these awards?

These accolades were introduced two years ago to recognise the season's best player in each position in Europe's premier club competition. This year's winners will be named – along with the UEFA Men's Player of the Year and UEFA Women's Player of the Year – during the UEFA Champions League draw in Monaco on 29 August.

How the players were shortlisted

Last season's winners

Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)

Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielder: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)

Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid / Juventus)