Voting starts for UEFA.com fans' Men's Team of the Year
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
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Choose your favourites from our selection of the 50 star performers of 2020.
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Football supporters around the world are being invited to have their say once more as the polls open for the 2020 UEFA.com fans' Men's Team of the Year.
Fans have until January to select their favourite XI from a shortlist of 50 of Europe's elite players: five goalkeepers, 15 defenders, 15 midfielders and 15 forwards.
Nominees
The nominees are proposed by the UEFA editorial team before being validated by the Technical Observer panel on the basis of their performances in UEFA competitions and domestic competitions within UEFA member associations from January to December 2020.
Winning team
The UEFA.com Men's Team of the Year is chosen to reflect the votes of the fans in parallel with players’ achievements over the course of the calendar year, moderated by the UEFA Technical Observer panel.
What you can win
Users who submit a team will be entered into the prize draw:
• Top prize is two tickets to both the men's and women's UEFA Champions League finals, including flights and accommodation.
• Second prize is a signed shirt of a player from the Men's Team of the Year.
• Third prize is five €100 vouchers to spend in UEFA's official online store.
Key numbers
• Club with most nominees: Ten players who represented UEFA Champions League winners Bayern München at some point in 2020 received nominations, including UEFA Men's Player of the Year Robert Lewandowski. Liverpool were their nearest rivals with eight nominees.
• Total number of clubs: The nominees represented 21 clubs in total – including cases where players turned out for two clubs in 2020.
• Total number of nationalities: The 50 nominees represent 19 national teams, with Germany (six nominees) edging out France (five) as the most endorsed nation.
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) is nominated for a 17th straight year.
• Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies (who turned 20 in early November) is the youngest nominee, followed by Dortmund forward Erling Braut Haaland, whose 20th birthday was in July.
• Having turned 36 in September, Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva (who left Paris for Chelsea in the summer) is the oldest nominee on the list.
• The 50 nominated players have an average age of just over 27. There are 15 players aged over 30, and 12 who have not yet reached 25.
• Eleven of the 50 players nominated represent national teams from outside Europe.
• The Premier League and Bundesliga are the most represented leagues; the list features 15 players who figured in Germany's top flight at some point in 2020, plus 15 who did similarly in the Premier League.
• Spanish clubs have had a relatively quiet year; only four players from the Liga make the final reckoning, including just one each from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year has proved hugely popular with supporters since its launch in 2001, with millions of votes cast every year. Some players have become regular team members.
The three players with the leading number of appearances in the UEFA.com fans’ Team of the Year are:
14: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus)
11: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
8: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)