Lucy Bronze named UEFA Women's Player of the Year

Lyon and England right-back Lucy Bronze is the first defender to win the poll of coaches and journalists.

Lyon and England right-back Lucy Bronze has won the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Player of the Year award.
Bronze, the seventh different winner of the prize in its seven-year history and the first defender, finished ahead of fellow nominees and Lyon team-mates Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry in the voting conducted by a panel of leading coaches and journalists. Bronze was one of five players from the UEFA Women's Champions League winners in the top ten, with 2017/18 Player of the Year, Wolfsburg's Pernille Harder, fifth.

Lucy Bronze reaction:

UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze

"I'm ecstatic and super humbled to have won the award up against two fantastic players who I know really well at Lyon: two great girls, great players. I want to say huge thanks to the Lionesses, the England team. We had a great summer and I don't think I would have won this award if it wasn't for them. The same goes for the Lyon team. We had an amazing season, we won the treble. I think any one of those girls could have been up here receiving this award."

The top ten

1 Lucy Bronze (Lyon & England) – 88 points
2 Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) – 56 points
3 Amandine Henry (Lyon & France) – 44 points
4 Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal & Netherlands) – 31 points
5 Ellen White (Birmingham City, now Manchester City & England) – 22 points
6 Pernille Harder (Wolfsburg & Denmark) – 21 points
7 Dzsenifer Marozsán (Lyon & Germany) – 12 points
8 Caroline Graham Hansen (Wolfsburg, now Barcelona & Norway) – 10 points
9= Lieke Martens (Barcelona & Netherlands) – 9 points
9= Wendie Renard (Lyon & France) – 9 points

Lucy Bronze's 2018/19

LyonUEFA Women's Champions League winner
French League winner
French Cup winner
UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season
EnglandFIFA Women's World Cup semi-final
FIFA Women's World Cup Silver Ball SheBelieves Cup winner

Previous award finishes: 5th (2018), 8th (2017)

Roll of honour

Lucy Bronze enjoyed a memorable season©Getty Images

2018/19 ─ Lucy Bronze (Lyon & England)
2017/18 ─ Pernille Harder (Wolfsburg & Denmark)
2016/17 ─ Lieke Martens (Rosengård/Barcelona & Netherlands)
2015/16 ─ Ada Hegerberg (Lyon & Norway)
2014/15 ─ Célia Šašić (FFC Frankfurt & Germany)
2013/14 ─ Nadine Kessler (Wolfsburg & Germany)
2012/13 ─ Nadine Angerer (FFC Frankfurt & Germany)

How the award works

The UEFA Women's Player of the Year recognises the best players, irrespective of nationality, who played for a club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the past season. Players are judged on performances in all club and national-team competitions.
The shortlist of three players was selected by a jury composed of the coaches of the 12 highest-ranked teams in the latest UEFA women's national team rankings, which also comprised the nine European sides that took part in the recent FIFA Women's World Cup, together with the coaches of the eight clubs that reached the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League. Twenty journalists specialising in women's football and chosen by the ESM group are also part of the jury.
Coaches and journalists were requested to pick a shortlist of three players by allocating respectively five points, three points and one point to each of them. The final result was based on the total number of votes cast by the coaches and journalists. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

Other award winners

UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk
Goalkeeper of the Season: Alisson Becker
Defender of the Season: Virgil van Dijk
Midfielder of the Season: Frenkie de Jong
Forward of the Season: Lionel Messi