Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Neymar make up the front four in the UEFA Team of the Year 2020 for men announced on Wednesday.
Ronaldo, who plays for Juventus and Portugal, made the selection for the 15th time in his record-breaking career on the strength of the Italian Serie A title won by Juventus.
The 35-year-old also scored 44 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions, with 35 of them coming in 33 league appearances.
The evergreen Ronaldo has been in every Team of the Year since 2007 – and still he goes on.
His perceived career rival, Messi made it his 12th selection on the back of 27 goals scored in 48 appearances in all competitions, including 22 goals in 37 Spanish La Liga appearances.
Messi has missed out on the UEFA.com fans’ Team of the Year only once (2013) since his first inclusion in 2008.
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The FIFA Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s’ Player of the Year, Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich win the treble, scoring an incredible 55 goals in all competitions, including 37 scored in 30 league appearances.
He made it into the list for the second time in his career.
Despite battles with injury, Paris Saint Germain’s Neymar made the list for the 10th time with 22 goals in 29 appearances, helping the capital club win the domestic treble and inspiring them to their first UEFA Champions League final.
Also on the list is Bayern Munich goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, who was rock-solid at the back as Bayern Munich won the treble of the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles.
The 34-year-old made his fourth appearance on the list with 18 clean sheets in 49 games.
Others that made the UEFA Team of the Year were: Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Alphonso Davis (Bayern Munich), Thiago Alcántara (Bayern/Liverpool), and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).
“The UEFA.com fans’ Team of the Year reflects the votes of the fans in parallel with players’ achievements in 2020 and was validated based on input from a UEFA technical observer panel throughout the course of the year,” a statement on the UEFA website read in part.
According to the statement, almost six million voters