Uefa’s player barometer has revealed its Player of the Tournament for Euro 2016, and it seems not everyone is on the same page as European football’s governing body.
Renato Sanches of Portugal earned young player honours, and few had too many complaints after the teenager came of age after forcing himself into the starting lineup for the knockout rounds.
But the decision to name Dimitri Payet as Player of the Tournament – even if it was based on the Uefa barometer – proved more controversial.
According to the UEFA Euro 2016 barometer, Dimitri Payet was the Player of the Tournament.https://t.co/YGsNIxvdzp pic.twitter.com/j3JCN6Il0E
— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) July 11, 2016
After the group stage, few would have disputed the decision. Payet scored great goals against Romania and Albania, and almost capped it off with a stunning volley which was a crossbar’s width away from earning Didier Deschamps’ team victory over Switzerland.
It would be harsh to say the West Ham man has faded in the knockout rounds – no one could realistically keep up that high level – but others (Antoine Griezmann chief among them) made more of an impact from the last 16 onwards.
According to the Uefa site, ‘The Barometer runs official player statistics through a specially designed algorithm to create rankings based on player performances.’. Payet stole top honours from Griezmann after the final, during which neither player impressed greatly.
While Hammers fans were happy with the decision…
https://twitter.com/king1416/status/752455685804269568
https://twitter.com/TheHammerLad/status/752459966489980929
Others weren’t so sure he deserved the award.
https://twitter.com/PaulRob01714058/status/752461049530552321
Though the more sadistic believed there was another good reason for it.
Payet Player of the Tournament for Injuring Ronaldo.
— Nuwaha™️ (@Nuwaha17) July 10, 2016
Who do you think was the best player at Euro 2016 and why? Email Hello@JOE.co.uk, or get in touch via Facebook or Twitter.
