Football: UEFA announces nominees for Team of Year

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ANKARA (AA) - UEFA, European football's governing body, on Tuesday released a shortlist of 50 players to be voted for the Team of Year.

UEFA.com users can pick their favorite players by voting online through Jan. 9.

England’s Liverpool, the reigning Champions League champs, have the most nominees with 10 players, followed by Dutch Ajax with eight, and Premier League club Manchester City with seven.

Cristiano Ronaldo was nominated for the 16th straight year -- a record -- and he has so far made Team of Year 13 times.

Lionel Messi made the shortlist for the 14th time, while Sergio Ramos got his eighth nod.

For the domestic leagues, England's Premier League provided the shortlist with the most players, with 25 nominees.

-Nominees for the Team of the Year are as follows:

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Andre Onana (Ajax), Marc-Andre ter-Stegen (Barcelona).

Defenders: Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Daley Blind (Ajax), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Jose María Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lizbon), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax), Angel di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Fabian Ruiz (Napoli), Fabinho (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jorginho (Chelsea), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), David Silva (Manchester City), Donny van de Beek (Ajax), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax).

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain ), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Muhammed Salah (Liverpool), Heung-min Son (Tottenham), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Dusan Tadic (Ajax).