UEFA Team of the Year

Until 2011, the writers at the website had constructed a short-list of sixty footballers and coaches^[1] who have performed well in European club competitions, domestic competitions and international tournaments for that particular year. Users then cast their vote of a line-up consisting of eleven players (including a goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards) and a coach based on who they believed excelled in European football. After the selection is made, the user also has to select one of the players to be the captain of their team.

The format of the vote was changed in 2012 – now users first choose their preferred formation (4–4–2, 3–5–2, 3–4–3, 4–3–3 or 5–3–2), and then choose the relevant number of players for each position. The voters have a choice between 4 goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielders and 12 forwards. The voting for best coach was discontinued.

After the votes are cast, they are tallied and the final team is announced on the UEFA website.

The player with the most appearances in the team is Cristiano Ronaldo, having appeared fifteen times. Second is Lionel Messi, having appeared twelve times. Sergio Ramos has the third-most appearances with nine, which is also the record for a defender. The most consecutive appearances in the team is fourteen for Cristiano Ronaldo (2007–2020), followed by Sergio Ramos (2012–2018) and Lionel Messi (2014–2020) with seven each, and Iker Casillas (2007–2012) with six.

The teams with the most player appearances (not including manager appearances) are Real Madrid and Barcelona with 49, followed by Bayern Munich (21) and Juventus (20). Barcelona is the team with the most players selected in a single season, with six players in both 2009 and 2010. The only other teams with more than three players in one season are Bayern Munich (four in 2013 and five in both 2014 and 2020), Liverpool (five in 2019), and Real Madrid (five in both 2017 and 2018 and four in 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016).^{[citation needed]}

The manager with the most appearances is José Mourinho, with four appearances (one with Internazionale, two with Porto and one with Chelsea). He is followed by Alex Ferguson, who has two appearances.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Santiago Cañizares	Valencia	1st
Cosmin Contra	Alavés Milan	1st
Sami Hyypiä	Liverpool	1st
Patrik Andersson	Bayern Munich Barcelona	1st
Bixente Lizarazu	Bayern Munich	1st
David Beckham	Manchester United	1st
Patrick Vieira	Arsenal	1st
Zinedine Zidane	Juventus Real Madrid	1st
Kily González	Valencia	1st
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	1st
David Trezeguet	Juventus	1st

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Coach: Gérard Houllier: Liverpool

Source:^[3]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Rüştü Reçber	Fenerbahçe	1st
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	1st
Alessandro Nesta	Lazio Milan	1st
Cristian Chivu	Ajax	1st
Roberto Carlos	Real Madrid	1st
Clarence Seedorf	Internazionale Milan	1st
Michael Ballack	Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich	1st
Zinedine Zidane	Real Madrid	2nd
Damien Duff	Blackburn Rovers	1st
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	2nd
Ronaldo	Internazionale Real Madrid	1st

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Coach: Şenol Güneş: Turkey

Source:^[4]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	1st
Paulo Ferreira	Porto	1st
Alessandro Nesta	Milan	2nd
Paolo Maldini	Milan	1st
Roberto Carlos	Real Madrid	2nd
Luís Figo	Real Madrid	1st
David Beckham	Manchester United Real Madrid	2nd
Zinedine Zidane	Real Madrid	3rd
Pavel Nedvěd	Juventus	1st
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	3rd
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Manchester United	1st

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Coach: José Mourinho: Porto

Source:^[5]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	2nd
Cafu	Milan	1st
Ricardo Carvalho	Porto Chelsea	1st
Alessandro Nesta	Milan	3rd
Ashley Cole	Arsenal	1st
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	1st
Maniche	Porto	1st
Ronaldinho	Barcelona	1st
Pavel Nedvěd	Juventus	2nd
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	4th
Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	1st

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Coach: José Mourinho: Porto / Chelsea

Source:^[6]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Petr Čech	Chelsea	1st
Cafu	Milan	2nd
John Terry	Chelsea	1st
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	2nd
Paolo Maldini	Milan	2nd
Luis García	Liverpool	1st
Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	1st
Ronaldinho	Barcelona	2nd
Pavel Nedvěd	Juventus	3rd
Samuel Eto'o	Barcelona	1st
Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	2nd

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Coach: José Mourinho: Chelsea

Source:^[7]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	3rd
Gianluca Zambrotta	Juventus Barcelona	1st
Fabio Cannavaro	Juventus Real Madrid	1st
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	3rd
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	1st
Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	2nd
Cesc Fàbregas	Arsenal	1st
Kaká	Milan	1st
Ronaldinho	Barcelona	3rd
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	5th
Samuel Eto'o	Barcelona	2nd

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Coach: Frank Rijkaard: Barcelona

Source:^[8]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	1st
Dani Alves	Sevilla	1st
Alessandro Nesta	Milan	4th
John Terry	Chelsea	2nd
Eric Abidal	Lyon Barcelona	1st
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	2nd
Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	3rd
Kaká	Milan	2nd
Clarence Seedorf	Milan	2nd
Zlatan Ibrahimović	Internazionale	1st
Didier Drogba	Chelsea	1st

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Coach: Alex Ferguson: Manchester United

Source:^[9]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	2nd
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	1st
John Terry	Chelsea	3rd
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	4th
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	2nd
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	3rd
Xavi	Barcelona	1st
Cesc Fàbregas	Arsenal	2nd
Franck Ribéry	Bayern Munich	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	1st
Fernando Torres	Liverpool	1st

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Coach: Alex Ferguson: Manchester United

Source:^[10]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	3rd
Dani Alves	Barcelona	2nd
John Terry	Chelsea	4th
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	5th
Patrice Evra	Manchester United	1st
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United Real Madrid	4th
Xavi	Barcelona	2nd
Kaká	Milan Real Madrid	3rd
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	2nd
Zlatan Ibrahimović	Internazionale Barcelona	2nd

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Coach: Pep Guardiola: Barcelona

Source:^[11]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	4th
Maicon	Internazionale	1st
Gerard Piqué	Barcelona	1st
Carles Puyol	Barcelona	6th
Ashley Cole	Chelsea	2nd
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	5th
Xavi	Barcelona	3rd
Wesley Sneijder	Internazionale	1st
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	2nd
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	3rd
David Villa	Valencia Barcelona	1st

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Coach: José Mourinho: Internazionale / Real Madrid

Source:^[12]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	5th
Dani Alves	Barcelona	3rd
Gerard Piqué	Barcelona	2nd
Thiago Silva	Milan	1st
Marcelo	Real Madrid	1st
Arjen Robben	Bayern Munich	1st
Xavi	Barcelona	4th
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	3rd
Gareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	4th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	6th

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Source:^[13]

Voting for a coach ended this year.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Iker Casillas	Real Madrid	6th
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	2nd
Gerard Piqué	Barcelona	3rd
Thiago Silva	Milan Paris Saint-Germain	2nd
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	3rd
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	4th
Xavi	Barcelona	5th
Andrea Pirlo	Juventus	1st
Mesut Özil	Real Madrid	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	5th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	7th

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Source:^[14]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	1st
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	4th
Thiago Silva	Paris Saint-Germain	3rd
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	3rd
David Alaba	Bayern Munich	1st
Gareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur Real Madrid	2nd
Marco Reus	Borussia Dortmund	1st
Mesut Özil	Real Madrid Arsenal	2nd
Franck Ribéry	Bayern Munich	2nd
Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain	3rd
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	8th

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Source:^[15]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	2nd
Philipp Lahm	Bayern Munich	5th
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	4th
Diego Godín	Atlético Madrid	1st
David Alaba	Bayern Munich	2nd
Arjen Robben	Bayern Munich	2nd
Toni Kroos	Bayern Munich Real Madrid	1st
Ángel Di María	Real Madrid Manchester United	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	6th
Zlatan Ibrahimović	Paris Saint-Germain	4th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	9th

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Source:^[16]

Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	3rd
Dani Alves	Barcelona	4th
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	5th
Gerard Piqué	Barcelona	4th
David Alaba	Bayern Munich	3rd
Paul Pogba	Juventus	1st
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	5th
James Rodríguez	Real Madrid	1st
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	10th
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	7th
Neymar	Barcelona	1st

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Source:^[17]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	4th
Jérôme Boateng	Bayern Munich	1st
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	6th
Gerard Piqué	Barcelona	5th
Leonardo Bonucci	Juventus	1st
Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	1st
Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	2nd
Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	6th
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	8th
Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid	1st
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	11th

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Source:^[18]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	5th
Dani Alves	Juventus Paris Saint-Germain	5th
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	7th
Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	1st
Marcelo	Real Madrid	2nd
Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	2nd
Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	3rd
Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	1st
Eden Hazard	Chelsea	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	9th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	12th

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Source:^[19]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Marc-André ter Stegen	Barcelona	1st
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	8th
Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	1st
Raphaël Varane	Real Madrid	1st
Marcelo	Real Madrid	3rd
Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	3rd
N'Golo Kanté	Chelsea	1st
Eden Hazard	Chelsea	2nd
Kylian Mbappé	Paris Saint-Germain	1st
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	10th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid Juventus	13th

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Source:^[20]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Alisson	Liverpool	1st
Trent Alexander-Arnold	Liverpool	1st
Matthijs de Ligt	Ajax Juventus	1st
Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	2nd
Andy Robertson	Liverpool	1st
Frenkie de Jong	Ajax Barcelona	1st
Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	2nd
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	11th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	14th
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	1st
Sadio Mané	Liverpool	1st

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Source:^[21]

More information Player, Team(s) ...

Player	Team(s)	Appearance
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	4th
Joshua Kimmich	Bayern Munich	1st
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	9th
Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	3rd
Alphonso Davies	Bayern Munich	1st
Thiago	Bayern Munich Liverpool	1st
Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	3rd
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	12th
Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	15th
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	2nd
Neymar	Paris Saint-Germain	2nd

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Source:^[22]

In November 2015, UEFA published their Ultimate Team of the Year, composed of the 18 players (11 starters and 7 substitutes) with the all-time most appearances in the UEFA Team of the Year, since its inception in 2001.

More information All-time XI, Goalkeeper ...

All-time XI	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
	Iker Casillas (Real Madrid/Porto)	Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) Carles Puyol (Barcelona) Alessandro Nesta (Lazio/Milan) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)	Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) Xavi (Barcelona)	Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Real Madrid) Thierry Henry (Arsenal) Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

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More information Substitutes, Appearances (as of 2015) ...

Substitutes	Appearances (as of 2015)
John Terry	4
Zlatan Ibrahimović	4
Gianluigi Buffon	3
Pavel Nedvěd	3
Zinedine Zidane	3
Ronaldinho	3
Kaká	3

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In November 2017, UEFA published an UEFA all-time XI of the century so far, their second Ultimate Team of the Year, composed of the 11 players with the all-time most appearances in the UEFA Team of the Year, since its inception in 2001.^[23]

More information All-time XI, Goalkeeper ...

All-time XI	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
	Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)	Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) Carles Puyol (Barcelona) Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)	Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) Xavi (Barcelona)	Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Real Madrid) Thierry Henry (Arsenal) Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

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• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year
• UEFA Club Football Awards
• UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award