Grigg voted 25th best player in Europe; as many votes as Pogba

Rob Conlon
Will Grigg: Striker nominated among 37 players

Will Grigg: Striker nominated among 37 players

Will Grigg has been voted the 25th best player in Europe by journalists, receiving the same amount of votes as Juventus superstar Paul Pogba.

Wigan striker Grigg has become one of the most popular names in football, despite not playing a single minute at Euro 2016, after the adaptation of Freed From Desire in his honour stormed the iTunes chart and became a favourite on the terraces.

And now the 24-year-old is among the 37 nominees for UEFA’s best player in Europe award, voted for by a poll of 55 journalists.

The top 10, who make up the final shortlist for the award, are as follows:

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid & Wales)

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy)

Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid & France)

Toni Kroos (Real Madrid & Germany)

Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)

Thomas Müller (Bayern München & Germany)

Manuel Neuer (Bayern München & Germany)

Pepe (Real Madrid & Portugal)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)

Luis Suárez (Barcelona & Uruguay)

A second vote will take place which will determine the three finalists to be named on August 5.

The jury will then cast their votes for the outright winner, which will be announced during the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on 25 August.

The rest of the nominated players are then presented in order.

11) Riyad Mahrez (Leicester & Algeria)

12) Jamie Vardy (Leicester & England)

13) Dimitri Payet (West Ham & France)

14) Jérôme Boateng (Bayern München & Germany)

15) Arturo Vidal (Bayern München & Chile)

16) Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia)

17) N’Golo Kanté (Leicester & France)

18) Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United & Sweden)

19)= Eden Hazard (Chelsea & Belgium)

19)= Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)

19)= Neymar (Barcelona & Brazil)

19)= Renato Sanches (Benfica/Bayern München & Portugal)

23) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern München & Poland)

24) Gonzalo Higuaín (Napoli & Argentina)

25)= Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy)

25)= Diego Godin (Atlético 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 (Sevilla/Paris Saint-Germain & Poland)

30)= Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain & France)

30)= Georges-Kévin N’Koudou (Marseille & France)

30)= Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid & Slovenia)