001 - A new record of almost 8.8 million votes was set

A host of stellar names feature in a star-studded UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year 2017. A grand total of 8,779,639 votes were cast by supporters around the world, an increase of over 1.6 million on the previous year’s tally of 7.15 million. Players from the Spanish league dominated the final XI, with a total of six making the team. There was a record 12th appearance for Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Portuguese ace one of five players to be chosen from European champions Real Madrid CF. His team-mate Sergio Ramos received the most votes with 588,315.

The line-up is based on a 4-4-2 formation, which was by far the most popular system chosen by fans during the voting process with 459,797 selections.

UEFA.com Fans' Team of the Year 2017

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus & Italy); Dani Alves (Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF & Spain), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus & Italy), Marcelo (Real Madrid CF & Brazil); Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City FC & Belgium, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF & Germany), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid CF & Croatia); Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC & Belgium; Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona & Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF & Portugal)

Below are some key facts from the 17th annual selection of the UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year:

• The total number of 8,779,639 votes tops the previous record of 8.6 million cast in 2014.

• 798,149 unique users voted for their teams on UEFA.com.

• There are two newcomers in the line-up - Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, who have the honour of being the first Belgians to be represented in the Fans’ Team of the Year. De Bruyne becomes the first ever Manchester City FC player to have made the XI, while Hazard was in sensational form for Belgium during the European Qualifiers – the 27-year-old scoring six goals in eight games as well as recording five assists.

• At 39-years-old, Gianluigi Buffon extends his record as the oldest ever player to make the team. He has now been picked for a fifth time and is just one appearance behind leading keeper Iker Casillas.

• The initial shortlist of 50 players was selected by the UEFA.com editorial team including seasoned reporters and expert correspondents on the basis of players’ performances for a European club or national team in UEFA competitions during the 2017 calendar year.

• Continuing its partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UEFA has once again set aside €100,000 to support the ICRC rehabilitation programme for landmine victims in Afghanistan. Representatives of the UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year will present the donation to the ICRC at an upcoming UEFA Champions League match.

Full voting results and previous UEFA.com users’ Teams of the Year can be found at en.toty.uefa.com.