Key stats for the UEFA Team of the Year 2020

After we have seen the nominations for both the Men’s and Women’s brigade, here we would be looking at some key stats of the nominated footballers.

Men’s stats

Key stats to look at:

• Cristiano Ronaldo is nominated for the 17th year running; he has featured in 14 teams, including each of the last 13. All are records.

• Lionel Messi is nominated for the 15th time and is looking to make the team for the 11th occasion. Sergio Ramos and Robert Lewandowski are on the shortlist for a ninth time.

• Twenty-one players make the 50-man shortlist for the first time; 22 also featured 12 months ago (including ten of the final XI), while the remaining seven are returning to the reckoning.

• Romelu Lukaku is nominated for the first time since 2010, when he got the nod as a 17-year-old at Anderlecht.

• Alphonso Davies is the first Canadian player to be nominated in the team's 20-year history.

• Atalanta and Leipzig figure among the nominees for the first time.

• Ciro Immobile is Lazio's first nominee since Jaap Stam in 2004.

• Anthony Lopes and Houssem Aouar are Lyon's first nominees since 2010.

• Erling Braut Haaland is Norway's first nominee in a decade, and third after Brede Hangeland (2010) and John Arne Riise (2002).

• It is the first year that Slovenia has had two players shortlisted, Josip Iličić joining five-time nominee Jan Oblak.

• The 50 nominated players have an average age of 27.28. At 20, Davies and Haaland are the youngest nominees; Thiago Silva, at 36, is the oldest.

Team of the Year Nominees by Club:

·      10 Bayern*

·      8 Liverpool*, Paris*

·      3 Atalanta, Inter, Leipzig

·      2 Atlético Madrid, Chelsea*, Juventus, Lyon, Man. City

·      1 al-Shabab*, Barcelona, Dortmund, Lazio, Leverkusen, Man. United*, Real Madrid, Sevilla*, Sporting CP*, Tottenham

Team of the Year nominees by national team:

·      6 Germany

·      5 France

·      4 Brazil, England, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

·      3 Argentina, Italy

·      2 Austria, Belgium, Slovenia

·      1 Canada, Costa Rica, Egypt, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Senegal

Team of the Year nominees by domestic league:

·      15 Bundesliga, Germany* (4 clubs)

·      14 Premier League, England* (5 clubs)

·      10 Ligue 1, France* (2 clubs)

·      9 Serie A, Italy (4 clubs)

·      5 Liga, Spain* (4 clubs)

·      1 Liga, Portugal* (1 club)

·      1 Pro League, Saudi Arabia* (1 club)

It is to be noted that *Kai Havertz, Thiago Alcántara, Thiago Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Éver Banega all represented two clubs in 2020 – both are counted here.

Women’s Stats:

Key stats:

• UEFA Women's Champions League winners Lyon have the most players represented with 13 of their finals squad (including since-departed Lucy Bronze) nominated, two more than runners-up Wolfsburg.

• English champions Chelsea have six nominees, including summer signing Pernille Harder, the most of any club not involved in August's UEFA Women's Champions League finals.

• Aided by Lyon's dominance, France have the most national-team players nominated (10) and the most represented league (19).

• The most common combination of club and country is Lyon & France on seven, followed by Barcelona & Spain on five, Wolfsburg & Germany on four and Arsenal & Netherlands on three.

• All six of Chelsea's nominees represent different national teams, a cosmopolitan variety matched only by Lyon.

• Five of FIFA's six confederations have at least one player nominated.

• The 50 nominated players have an average age of 27.30, almost exactly the same as the male shortlist at 27.28.

• Lena Oberdorf, who turns 19 on 19 December, is the only teenage nominee. Keeper Hedvig Lindahl, 37, is the oldest, with Steph Houghton, 32, the most senior outfield player on the list, of which 15 are in their 30s.

Team of the Year nominees by club:

·      13 Lyon*

·      11 Wolfsburg*

·      8 Barcelona

·      6 Chelsea

·      5 Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain

·      2 Atlético*, Bayern*, Manchester City*

·      1 Essen*, Juventus, Montpellier*, PSV Eindhoven*

Team of the Year nominees by national team:

·      10 France

·      6 Germany, Spain

·      5 England, Netherlands

·      3 Norway,Sweden

·      2 Poland, Scotland

·      1 Canada, Chile, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea

Team of the Year nominees by domestic league:

·      19 Division 1 Féminine (France)*

·      14 Frauen Bundesliga (Germany)*

·      13 FA Women's Super League (England)*

·      10 Primera División (Spain)*

·      1 Eredivisie Vrouwen (Netherlands)*, Serie A (Italy)

*It is to be noted that Lucy Bronze, Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir, Pernille Harder, Kathrin Hendrich, Sakina Karchaoui, Hedvig Lindahl, Lena Oberdorf and Sari van Veenendaal have all represented two clubs in 2020 – both are counted here.