Will Grigg voted 25th-best player in Europe - level with Paul Pogba
Monday 18 July 2016 11:53, UK
Will Grigg has been voted Europe's joint 25th-best player for 2015/16 - the same ranking as Paul Pogba.
Manchester United are prepared to break football's £80m transfer record to re-sign Pogba from Juventus this summer.
But, according to voting journalists from UEFA's 55 members, the France midfielder's performances last season were on a par with those of a Wigan striker who failed to get off the Northern Ireland bench at Euro 2016.
That did not stop Grigg's name echoing around arenas as a terrace chant initiated at the DW Stadium caught on in France, and the 25-year-old did finish the season with 28 goals for his club.
But he is the only man outside a major top division to appear on a list of 37 nominated for UEFA's Best Player in Europe Award.
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A 10-man shortlist for the prize features Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and current holder Lionel Messi and will be trimmed to three on August 5 before the winner is revealed at the Champions League group-stage draw on August 25.
Three Premier League players just failed to make the shortlist, Leicester's Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy finishing 11th and 12th ahead of 13th-placed West Ham star Dimitri Payet.
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2015/16
Ten-man shortist (in alphabetical order)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid & Wales)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid & Germany)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich & Germany)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich & Germany)
Pepe (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona & Uruguay)
Other players nominated
11 Riyad Mahrez (Leicester & Algeria)
12 Jamie Vardy (Leicester & England)
13 Dimitri Payet (West Ham & France)
14 Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich & Germany)
15 Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich & Chile)
16 Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
17 N'Golo Kante (Chelsea & France)
18 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United & Sweden)
19= Eden Hazard (Chelsea & Belgium)
19= Andres Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)
19= Neymar (Barcelona & Brazil)
19= Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich & Portugal)
23 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland)
24 Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli & Argentina)
25= Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy)
25= Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid & Uruguay)
25= Will Grigg (Wigan & Northern Ireland)
25= Hugo Lloris (Tottenham & France)
25= Paul Pogba (Juventus & France)
30= Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham & Belgium)
30= Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund & Gabon)
30= Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium)
30= Kevin Gameiro (Sevilla & France)
30= Grzegorz Krychowiak (PSG & Poland)
30= Blaise Matuidi (PSG & France)
30= Georges-Kevin N'Koudou (Marseille & France)
30= Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid & Slovenia)
