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A host of stellar names feature in a star-studded UEFA.com Team of the Year 2016. A grand total of 7.2 million votes were cast by fans around the world, who selected their favourite footballers from the past 12 months. Players from the Spanish league dominated the final XI, with a total of eight making the team. There was a record 11th appearance for Cristiano Ronaldo in the team, with the Portuguese ace one of four players to be chosen from European champions Real Madrid CF. His teammate Sergio Ramos received the most votes with over 488,000.
The line-up is based on a 4-3-3 formation, by far the most popular chosen by fans during the voting process.
UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year 2016
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy) – Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF/Spain), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona/Spain), Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München/Germany), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy) – Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona/Spain), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF/Germany), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid CF/Croatia) – Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona/Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF/Portugal), Antoine Griezmann (Club Atlético de Madrid/France).
Below are some key facts from the 16th annual selection of the UEFA.com users’ Team of the Year:
Over 650,000 unique users voted for their teams on UEFA.com.
There are four newcomers in the line-up: They include Antoine Griezmann, who fired Atlético Madrid to the UEFA Champions League final and top-scored at UEFA EURO 2016 with France. Leonardo Bonucci, Jérôme Boateng and Luka Modrić are also rewarded for their fine displays.
Four players from this year’s XI also featured in the UEFA EURO 2016 Team of the Tournament. They are EURO winner Cristiano Ronaldo, finalist Antoine Griezmann, and Jerome Boateng and Toni Kroos, who made the semifinals with Germany.
The initial shortlist of 40 players was selected by UEFA.com staff writers and correspondents on the basis of their performances for a European club or national side in 2016.
Continuing its partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UEFA has once again set aside €100,000 to support the ICRC rehabilitation programme for landmine victims in Afghanistan. Representatives of the UEFA.com Team of the Year will present the donation to the ICRC at an upcoming UEFA Champions League match.
Full voting results and previous UEFA.com users’ Teams of the Year can be found at en.toty.uefa.com .
