UEFA.com Team of the Year 2013 announced

Record 6.3 million votes cast online

After a record tally of more than 6.3 million votes were cast in the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2013 poll, the final XI features four players from FC Bayern München and a record eighth appearance for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Bundesliga is the most represented league for the first time, that status having belonged to the Spanish Liga since 2007.

UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2013

Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München & Germany); Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF & Spain), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München & Germany), David Alaba (FC Bayern München & Austria); Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München & France), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund & Germany) Mesut Özil (Arsenal FC/Real Madrid CF & Germany), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid CF/Tottenham Hotspur & Wales); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF & Portugal), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain & Sweden).

Three players have earned a debut in the 13th annual selection, picked from a shortlist of 40 chosen by UEFA.com staff writers on the basis of their performances for a European club or national side in 2013. That trio all featured in the UEFA Champions League final between FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund: Manuel Neuer, David Alaba – the first Austrian to figure – and Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund’s first representative.

Cristiano Ronaldo is involved for an unprecedented seventh time in a row and is partnered up front by Zlatan Ibrahimović. The Sweden striker is joined by his club colleague Thiago Silva, included for the third year running and the only non-European selected.

The other two defenders were all in the 2012 XI: Sergio Ramos and Philipp Lahm, who received the most votes. The midfield contains two players who switched clubs in the summer: Mesut Özil, who left Real Madrid CF for Arsenal FC, and the man who transferred to the Santiago Bernabéu from Tottenham Hotspur, Gareth Bale. They are joined by Marco Reus and Franck Ribéry, whose first appearance since 2008 comes in addition to being named 2012/13 UEFA Best Player in Europe.

Users were invited to decide their favoured formation – they opted for 4-4-2, the system used as a default for the first 11 Teams of the Year and also topping the poll in 2012. The 6,310,237 votes were cast by more than 525,000 visitors, surpassing 2012 when 5.3 million selections were made. Almost 86,000 of this year's picks were made directly via the official UEFA Champions League Twitter page.

Continuing its support for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UEFA will for a seventh time set aside €100,000 for a player voted into the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year to present to the ICRC.

Previous editions of the UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year can be found at en.toty.uefa.com.