UEFA.com fans’ Team of the Year 2018 announced

002 - A host of stellar names feature in a star-studded UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year 2018

Players from the Spanish and English top divisions dominate the final XI, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo the only players based elsewhere. The Portuguese was included for a record 13th time after helping his former club Real Madrid CF to a third consecutive UEFA Champions League title in Kyiv in May.

Ronaldo's former Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modrić, who also starred as Croatia reached the FIFA World Cup final, received the most votes with 115,440. For a third successive year, Madrid have the most players in the team with five.

FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi makes his tenth appearance in the XI, while Madrid defender Sergio Ramos is included for the seventh consecutive time.

Almost two million votes were cast exclusively by users registered with UEFA.com during the course of the campaign. 

The line-up is based on a 4-3-3 formation, which was by far the most popular system chosen by fans during the voting process with 100,498 selections.

The UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year 2018:

• Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona & Germany)
• Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF & Spain)
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC & Netherlands)
• Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid CF & France)
• Marcelo (Real Madrid CF & Brazil)
• N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea FC & France)
• Luka Modrić (Real Madrid CF & Croatia)
• Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC & Belgium)
• Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain & France)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF/Juventus & Portugal)
• Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona & Argentina)

Below are some key facts from the 18th annual selection of the UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year:

• There are five newcomers in the line-up - Marc-André ter Stegen, Virgil van Dijk, Raphaël Varane, N'Golo Kanté and Mbappé.
• Van Dijk is the first Dutchman to be named in the XI since Arjen Robben in 2014.
• Ter Stegen is the second German goalkeeper to have made the line-up after Manuel Neuer (2013, 2014, 2015).
• Varane joined Christian Karembeu (1998), Roberto Carlos (2002) and Sami Khedira (2014) in winning the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup in the same year.
• At 20 years old, Mbappé is the youngest player in the XI.
• Modrić was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year and Best FIFA Men's Player, as well as winning a third successive UEFA Champions League.

The initial shortlist of 50 players was selected by the UEFA.com editorial team including seasoned reporters and expert correspondents on the basis of players' performances for a European club or national team in UEFA competitions during the 2018 calendar year.

UEFA has again set aside €100,000 to support an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) programme, which will support the organisation’s work to reunite families torn apart by armed conflict and violence.

The donation is part of UEFA's partnership with the ICRC, which dates back to 1997. The cheque will be presented by a player selected into the UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year, with Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Ramos and Paul Pogba having been given the honour in recent years.

Full voting results and previous UEFA.com fans' Teams of the Year can be found at https://toty.uefa.com