Neither Salah nor Van Dijk, the Liverpool FC player that appears in UEFA's top 10 players

UEFA has confirmed this day its three official candidates for the player of the year 2023. The European body defined Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi and Kevin De Bruyne, as the three most outstanding footballers. However, the top 10 most voted players for this award were also revealed and the appearance of a Liverpool FC footballer, who is neither Salah nor Van Dijk, is surprising.

Alexis Mac Allister surprised with the 10th place among those voted by UEFA for being the revelation of the Premier League in Brighton and the historic qualification for the UEFA Europa League, before moving to Liverpool. The former Argentinos Juniors and Boca midfielder also excelled in the 2022 World Cup and that great participation allowed him to be among the best ten UEFA footballers.

The player was signed this season by Liverpool FC, with the aim of reinforcing the midfield and supporting the club's star forwards, such as Mohamed Salah. Now, he surprises by appearing among the nominees for an award, which the player Virgil Van Dijk came to win at the time a few seasons ago.

Does Messi deserve to be in the Top 3?

Messi played 41 games, scored 21 goals and gave 20 assists in the 2022/2023 season, the last one at PSG and in European football. Despite being one of the lowest records of his career, he had an average direct impact of one goal per game. However, at the title level he won a Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup.