Barcelona players dominate UEFA award nominees

Six players who helped Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in May's Champions League final were included in the list of nominees for UEFA's Club Footballer of the Year awards to be presented in Monte Carlo next week.
Goalkeeper Victor Valdes, defender Gerard Pique, midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta and forwards Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, now with Inter Milan, were on the list released by UEFA on Monday.

The six other players come from either Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool.

The three United players are goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, defender Nemanja Vidic and forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has since joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of £80m.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech and defender John Terry and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard were also nominated.

The players were proposed by the coaches of the 16 teams that reached the Champions League knock-out phase, with votes cast for a winner in each position as well as the overall UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.

The announcement will be made during the Champions League group stage draw on August 27.

Nominations:

Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea), Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)

Defender: Gerard Pique (Barcelona), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Midfielder: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta (both Barcelona)

Forward: Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi (both Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)