UEFA
Real Madrid and Barcelona have big impact on UEFA XI
Players from both LaLiga and Champions League winners of 2017/18 made up more than half of the team of the year from UEFA.
Another year passes and once again the white shirts of Real Madrid dominate UEFA's team of the year following their third consecutive Champions League. LaLiga champions of the 2017/18 season, Barcelona, were the next club with the most presence in the eleven.
Madrid and Barça take UEFA votes
It may only be an online vote - we have seen over recent years what can happen when you put the decision in the hands of the people - but Spain's big two contributed six players to the UEFA XI. Interestingly, for the capital side there were three defenders named (one of which also won the World Cup with France in 2018) and the midfielder who won a selection of individual gongs for the year. Their other legendary star, who moved to Juventus in the summer and continues to score goals and break records, also took his place in the line-up for the Juventus club.
Barça provided the team's goalkeeper as well as one of the greatest players ever to have played the game. There was no room for any player from Atlético Madrid, the team that pushed the Catalan's closest in the LaLiga and also picked up UEFA's second continental prize, the Europa League. A certain French striker may be feeling somewhat unloved on the back of this vote.
UEFA's Team of the Year 2018
Ter Stegen; Ramos, Van Dijk, Varane, Marcelo; Modric, Kanté, Hazard; Mbappé, Messi, Cristiano.
Luka Modric received the most votes (115,440) in the online poll at uefa.com, while Messi (108,423) and Cristiano Ronaldo (107,326) were next best. The vote took place in December 2018 and collated 1,853,973 contributions in total, all from registered users who had to pick from a 50-name shortlist based on performances over the calendar year.