End of an era: Messi, Ronaldo not the best players anymore?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been at the forefront in the football world for quite some time. Indeed they are two of the finest players that the modern era has seen. Their achievements are out of this world. But all good things eventually come to an end and recent evidence suggests that it might soon be the end of an era.

Both players are well into their thirties and as of now, neither of them is showing signs of slowing down. Messi and Ronaldo have 11 Ballon d'Or titles between them and they are still producing statistics that keep them in contention for the world's best player. However, it seems that the throne isn't exclusively available to them anymore.

The 33-year-old Argentine and 35-year-old Portuguese failed to make it to the final three nominations for the 2019-20 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.

This marked the first time since 2010 that neither of these footballers are in contention for the prestigious award, which indeed seems the end of an era.

On Wednesday, UEFA revealed that Messi had narrowly missed out on the third place by finishing joint-fourth with Neymar. Both received 53 votes. Interestingly, Ronaldo had to settle for the 10th spot with a mere 25 votes.

Ahead of Ronaldo are Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich (26 votes), Liverpool's new-recruit Thiago Alcantara (27 votes), Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe (39 votes), and Bayern's Thomas Muller (41 votes).

UEFA has selected Robert Lewandowski, Kevin de Bruyne, and Manuel Neuer as the top three competitors for the male category this year.

Lewandowski has been spectacular all season, with 55 goals to his name across all competitions. De Bruyne contributed 20 league assists, while Neuer was recognised for his six clean sheets during the UEFA Champions League earlier this year.

Last year, Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk had won the UEFA Player of the Year title. This year's winner will be announced in Nyon on October 1 during the Champions League group stage draw.

According to UEFA, players in Europe "irrespective of nationality" have been shortlisted and judged based on their performances over the whole season across all competitions; both domestic and international.

Interestingly, Messi was unable to win any silverware with Barcelona during the last season. On the other hand, Ronaldo helped Juventus win Serie A. Despite domestic success with his club, Ronaldo could make it nowhere above the 10th spot.