Ballon d'Or candidates Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo lead the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2015, having been picked from a shortlist of 40 candidates.
European champions Barcelona had eight players on the list but ended with five in the final XI: Gerard Pique, Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta, Messi and Neymar.
The 2015 https://t.co/sQezPQoaea #TOTY... pic.twitter.com/RsdGAGtzTs
- Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 8, 2016
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who topped the polling with 623,046 individual votes last season, took his place up front, while teammates James Rodriguez and Sergio Ramos are also included.
Last year's beaten finalists Juventus had six players shortlisted, but the final vote only included the youngest nominee, Paul Pogba. Bayern Munich meanwhile had goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and full-back David Alaba picked from five players including Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.
Messi received more votes than any other #TOTY nominee... More stats: https://t.co/XkhCR3w03y pic.twitter.com/7TaKMGy8O5
- Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 8, 2016
The Premier League, therefore, had to contend without a single player in the final XI despite having five players on the shortlist: Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, and Manchester City trio Joe Hart, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
UEFA Team of the Year: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich); David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Dani Alves (Barcelona); James Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar (Barcelona).