UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year 2019: stats breakdown
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Article summary
Which side have the most players? Which league has the most nominees? UEFA.com breaks down the figures.
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The 50 players shortlisted for the UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year 2019 vote represent 14 clubs and 21 different national teams.
UEFA.com's editors and correspondents helped to make the selection based on players' domestic and international performances, as well as their displays in our men's club competitions: the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup. Take a closer look at the top-line figures.
Key stats
- Cristiano Ronaldo is nominated for a 16th straight year; he has made 13 teams, including each of the last 12. Behind him in the record books, Lionel Messi has been nominated 14 times and made the team ten times, while Sergio Ramos is on the shortlist for an eighth time.
- Exactly half of the nominees have played in the Premier League in 2019, including four English players. No English player has made the XI since Ashley Cole in 2010.
- Andy Robertson is the first Scottish player to be nominated in the team's 19-year history.
- Liverpool have the most nominees with ten. Five Reds players have previously made the XI: Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypiä, Virgil van Dijk, Fernando Torres and Luis García.
- Ajax and Manchester City have previously had just one player apiece in the all-star selection: Cristian Chivu (2002) and Kevin De Bruyne (2017).
- Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Agüero are each nominated for an eighth time – neither have yet made the final XI.
- The 50 nominated players have an average age of 27.18, down from 27.78 in 2018.
- At 20, Matthijs de Ligt is the youngest nominee. Ronaldo, at 34, is the oldest.
- The biggest player in the initial selection is Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who at 1.95m stands more than a head taller than the shortest, Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kanté (1.69m).
- Napoli and Sporting CP have never had a player in the all-star XI.
Team of the Year nominees by club
10 Liverpool
8 Ajax*
7 Manchester City
5 Barcelona*
4 Bayern, Chelsea*
3 Tottenham
2 Atlético Madrid, Juventus*, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid*
1 Arsenal, Sporting CP
Team of the Year nominees by national team
7 Spain
6 Netherlands
4 Argentina, Brazil, England
3 Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal
2 Senegal
1 Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Uruguay
Team of the Year nominees by domestic league
25 Premier League* (England)
9 Liga* (Spain)
8 Eredivisie* (Netherlands)
4 Serie A* (Italy)
4 Bundesliga (Germany)
2 Ligue 1 (France)
1 Liga (Portugal)
*Eden Hazard, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt have all represented two clubs in 2019 – both are counted here.