The congratulatory message on Instagram came in pidgin and a photo of Super Eagles players celebrating a goal was attached to it.

La Liga wrote “We dey congratulate the Super Eagles as dem top their group for #AFCON2021, and we wish dem beta luck for the knockout stage. Up Naija”

Liverpool defender, Van Dijk, was shortlisted for the award after playing an influential role as they won the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup. He also helped his team finish second place in the Premier League and reached the UEFA Nations League final with Holland earlier in the summer, where they were beaten by Portugal.

Lionel Messi finished top goalscorer in the Champions League and picked up the European Golden Shoe, as well as winning his 10th La Liga title with Barcelona.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, he claimed his first Serie A title with Juventus following his £100m move from Real Madrid, where he scored 28 goals in his first season in Italy. He also led Portugal to Nations League glory, where he was named top scorer at the finals.

The winner will be announced during the Champions League draw on August 29

Guadalupe Porras Ayuso, a 32-year-old assistant referee will become the first woman ever to officiate in the league.

Ayuso has worked in Segunda, the men’s second division, for two seasons and before that officiated for eight seasons in Segunda B, the third division in Spain.

RFEF said in a statement.”The assistant referee will be the first woman to debut in the top flight,”

Neymar, who left Barcelona to join PSG for a world record fee of 222 million euros in August 2017, could make a surprise move back to Barca this summer.

Tebas said “In my opinion if Neymar behaves better, he can be a great player, but I think behaviour and the values that we set as a competition are also very important. I prefer another type of player. Neymar is a great player , but if the example off the pitch is not correct, then to be honest I’d prefer him not to come to the Spanish league.”