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What's the story?
UEFA has released a shortlist of fifty players in the running for a spot in their 2018 Team of the Year, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi obviously making the cut.
In case you didn't know...
The shortlist was handpicked by UEFA's journalists based on a player's performance during the year domestically and internationally.
The results, on the other hand, will be decided by football fans across the globe who will vote for the most-worthy players on UEFA's official website.
The heart of the matter
The fifty-man shortlist for the 2018 edition of UEFA's Team of the Year are as follows:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Alisson (Liverpool), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona).
Defenders:
Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Kostas Manolas (AS Roma), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), John Stones (Manchester City), Samuel Umtiti (FC Barcelona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) and Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).
Midfielders:
Casemiro (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Isco (Real Madrid), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), James Milner (Liverpool), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Ivan Rakitic (FC Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City) and Florian Thauvin (Marseille).
Forwards:
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Edin Dzeko (AS Roma), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Juventus), Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
What's next?
Voting on UEFA's official website began yesterday and will close on January 11th.
