22:40 PM IST: And it's Ronaldo. Words of praise for Frenchman Griezmann. He was on the losing side, to Real Madrid first in the Champions League final, then to Portugal at Euro.
Ronaldo to Bale and Griezmann: "You deserve [to win the award] too because you are unbelievable players." #UEFABestPlayer
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2016
22:38 PM IST: Now, it's time to find out who is the best from Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 is fav. No brainer, though. Portugal won the Euro, and Real Madrid another Champions League. He himself told, it was probably the best season in his career.
Strangely, all three finalists play in Madrid.
22:35 PM IST: The first award is for UEFA Women's Best Player. And the winner is Ada Hegerberg. The 21-year-old Norwegian forward won UEFA Women's Champions League 2015–16 with Olympique Lyonnais. She beat Amandine Henry (France/Portland Thorns FC) or Dzsenifer Marozsan (Hungary/Olympique Lyonnais) for the best player award.
22:30 PM IST: Once again, here are the groups —
Group A: PSG, Arsenal, Basle, Ludogorets
Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas
Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic
Group D: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Rostov
Group E: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco
Group F: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Legia Warsaw
Group G: Leicester, Porto, Club Brugge, Copenhagen
Group H: Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb
The official result of the #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/WxbnD5tLEP
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2016
22:28 PM IST: And after the big draw, we will have the big awards ceremony for players.
22:25 PM IST: Croatian club Zagreb Dinamo joined Juventus, Sevilla and Lyon in Group H.
New comers from Russia, Rostov joined Bayern Munich, Atletico and PSV in Group D.
Turkey champions Besiktas joined Benfica, Napoli and Dynamo Kyiv in Group B.
And finally, Group C has Scottish champs Celtic with Barcelona, Manchester City and Monchengladbach.
22:23 PM IST: Firsdt club to be drawn from Pot 4 is Ludogorets. The Bulgarian club found themselves with PSG, Arsenal and Basel.
FC Copenhagen, from Denmark, are in Group G with Leicester, Porto and Club Brugge.
Champions of Poland Legia are grouped in F, with Real Madrid, Dortmund and Sporting.
AS Monano joined CSKA Moscow, Leverkusen and Tottenham.
22:17 PM IST: And the next guest is Roberto Carlos, one of the greatest defenders of all time.
22:16 PM IST: Seven-time Swiss champions FC Basel are in the Group A with PSG and Arsenal.
Final club in the Pot 3, Borussia Monchengladbach are placed in the Group C, with Barcelona and Manchester City.
22:14 PM IST: Dynamo Kyiv in Group B. The Ukrainian club joined Benfica and Napoli.
Group D's latest new joinee is PSV Eindhoven. Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are already there.
Belgian club Club Brugge are in the Group G, with Leicester and FC Porto.
22:12 PM IST: From the Pot 3, we have French club Olympic Lyon. They are in Group H, and joined Juventus and Sevilla.
Sporting is the next club. The Portuguese club joined Real Madrid and Dortmund. Tough!
Tottenham Hotspur joined Group E, and CSKA Moscow and Leverkusen are there.
22:06 PM IST: Two more rounds to go. And the next guest is Ruud van Nistelrooy, one of the greatest Champions League strikers. To be precise, the fourth highest scorer in the tournament's history.
22:05 PM IST: And Arsenal's team Arsenal is next. The Gunners got Group A, and joined Paris-Saint Germain.
Next is Napoli. The Italian club joined Benfica in Group B.
Bayern Leverkusen joined CSKA Moscow in the Group E.
And the finalists in the last three seasons, Atletico Madrid joined Bayern Munich in the Group D. So far the the D.
Manchester City once again found a Spanish club. Barcelona in the Group C.
22:00 PM IST: First team drawn from the Pot 2 is FC Porto. The Portuguese club joined Leicester, in the Group G.
Sevilla FC of Spain is next. The five time winners of Europa Cup joined Juventus in the Group H.
Borussia Dortmond, the German giants, joined Real Madrid in the Group F.
21:55 PM IST: Then France, Arsenal and Barcelona legend Thierry Henry arrived, to join the draw for Pot 2.
21:55 PM IST: French champions Paris-Saint Germain are in Group A, while Italian champs Juventus in Group H. That's how the champions are placed.
21:53 PM IST: Portuguese champions Benfica are placed in the Group B.
CSKA Moscow, the Russian champions and 2010 Champions League quarter-finalists, are in the E. Two more teams from the pot of champions.
21:51 PM IST: English champions and the first timers Liecester are placed in Group G.
Then, Real Madrid — the reigning champions — are in the Group F
Another five-time champions Bayern Munich are in the Group D.
21:49 PM IST: First club to be picked was Barcelona, five time champions and Spain champions, from Pot 1. And they are placed in Group C.
21:45 PM IST: And these are some basic draw notes:
Teams from the same country can’t be in the same group.
Teams from Russia and Ukraine can’t be in the same group.
There are eight groups, A to H, and teams will be drawn from four pots , 1 to 4.
21:42 PM IST: Legends Ian Rush, Clarence Seedorf and Ruud van Nistelrooy will pick balls.
21:35 PM IST: Hosts Pedro Pinto and Anne-Laure Bonnet already started giving a lowdown on what to expect tonight.
21:25 PM IST: Just 5 minutes before the event begins! Stay tuned for live updates.
UEFA's 10-man shortlist for the best European player of the season was dominated by players for the Spanish La Liga and so is the final 3-man podium.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo battle it out for the individual honor with Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann.
All three enjoyed successful seasons with both club and country. Here's a sneak-peak into their season achievements:
Gareth Bale: Semi-finals with Wales at Euro 2016 | Winner of 2015-16 Champions League with Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Winner Euro 2016 with Portugal | Winner of 2015-16 Champions League with Real Madrid.
Antoine Griezmann: Runner-up Euro 2016 with France | Runner-up 2015-16 Champions League with Real Madrid.
Many fans were shocked to see the name of Barcelona Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo missing from the final three, who both had incredible seasons themselves.
Soon after the UEFA Champions League group stage draw, the European Player of the year will be announced.
SCHEDULE
Date: 25th August, 2016
Time: 9:30 PM
Live Streaming: Ten 2 & UEFA official website
It's #UCLdraw day!
Excited?
Here's everything you need to know: https://t.co/0XJnzw9hvC pic.twitter.com/eqhwmHDKga— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2016
