Champions League Midfielder of the Season: N'Golo Kanté
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Article summary
The Chelsea man has been named Midfielder of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
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Chelsea's N'Golo Kanté has been named Midfielder of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
The French international, 30, beat off competition from Jorginho and Kevin De Bruyne after a remarkable campaign that concluded with Player of the Match performances in the semi-finals and final. The award was presented to Kanté during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Istanbul.
The top ten
1 N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) – 263 points
2 Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City) – 197 points
3 Jorginho (Chelsea) – 149 points
4 Ilkay Gündogan (Man. City) – 15 points
= Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 15 points
6 Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) – 9 points
= Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) – 9 points
8 Pedri (Barcelona) – 6 points
9 Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool, now at Paris) – 5 points
= Kai Havertz (Chelsea) – 5 points
2020/21 Champions League stats
Appearances: 13
Assists: 1
Clean sheets: 9
Goals conceded: 4
Player of the Match awards (KOs): 4
N'Golo Kanté testimonials
"I was fighting to have him in my team and now we did it the other way around – I came to his team. It's a coach's dream to have N'Golo on your side because he makes things easy for everybody on the pitch. He's a very rare and unique player in terms of physical ability but the combination with his mindset and character makes him so, so special."
Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea coach
"He does everything."
César Azpilicueta, Chelsea captain
"Kanté's real quality comes out when he can be a box-to-box midfielder; then he becomes one of the best in the world. What Tuchel has done incredibly well for Kanté is he's said 'you just are yourself, box-to-box' and that has made him exceptional."
Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach
How Kanté was chosen
The jury comprised the following:
- 24 coaches of the teams which participated in this summer’s UEFA EURO 2020
- 80 coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stages of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48)
- 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each of UEFA's member associations
Jury members chose their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
The other awards
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
UEFA Men's Coach of the Year: Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
UEFA Women's Coach of the Year: Lluís Cortés (Barcelona)
UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season: Rúben Dias (Man. City)
UEFA Champions League Men's Forward of the Season: Erling Haaland (Dortmund)
UEFA Women's Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Sandra Paños (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Defender of the Season: Irene Paredes (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Forward of the Season: Jenni Hermoso (Barcelona)
UEFA President's Award: Danish medical team, Simon Kjær
Last year's winner
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne won the 2019/20 Midfielder of the Season award. De Bruyne was in exquisite form for much of last season as City reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and finished second in the Premier League. The 29-year-old Belgian was voted by his fellow professionals as Player of the Year in England after racking up a record-equalling 20 assists.