Ronaldo, Messi headline UEFA's 40-man shortlist for Team of the Year

Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2014 by Foxsports.com

The 40 players have been chosen by UEFA.com writers based on their performances for a European club or national side during 2014.

The nominees have been released for the 2014 UEFA Team of the Year, a football award given by the game's governing body through a poll on its official website.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale headline the 40-man shortlist, with the results being announced at the beginning of next year. A record 6.3 million votes were cast in last year's edition, where Real Madrid's Ronaldo enjoyed a seventh successive appearance inside Europe's elite.

This year seven Premier League stars have made the list - Chelsea's pair of Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa, the Manchester City trio of Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure, Arsenal's marksman Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United's record signing and talisman Angel Di Maria.

The 40 players have been chosen by UEFA.com writers based on their performances for a European club or national side during 2014. Users can select their preferred formation before picking their starting XI from four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielders and 12 forwards. Voting closes on Jan 6.

Goalkeepers: Beto (Sevilla), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

Defenders: David Alaba, Medhi Benatia, Jerome Boateng (all Bayern Munich), Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit), Diego GodÃn (Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Miranda (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Bayern Munich), Arda Turan (Atletico Madrid), Angel Di MarÃa (Manchester United), James RodrÃguez (Real Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Forwards: Alexis SÃ¡nchez (Arsenal), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Diego Costa (Chelsea), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Jonatan Soriano (Salzburg), Carlos Tevez (Juventus).