A total of 40 players have been chosen by UEFA.com staff writers on the basis of their performances for a European club or national side in 2014, with that number including four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielders and 12 forwards.
Voting for the 14th edition of the poll is now open and users will have until 13.00 CET on 6 January to cast their vote, with the final line-up to be announced on 9 January. It will also be included in the January edition of Champions Matchday - the official UEFA Champions League magazine.
Our nominees:
Pablo Zabaleta
While Kompany and Toure have been selected before without making the final XI, this is Zabaleta’s first nomination. He is one of four Argentines to have been put forward.
In a successful year, the defender secured two domestic trophies with City, missing just three Premier League games all season.
He then went on to play a key role for his national side as they reached the World Cup final. La Albiceleste kept four clean sheets in the competition before falling at the final hurdle to Germany.
Vincent Kompany
Kompany, who has been nominated three times previously, also played a major part in the World Cup, leading Belgium to the quarter-finals.
He is well-known as one of Europe’s most reliable defenders, having captained City to their second domestic title in three seasons, along with the League Cup.
The skipper also made history back in March, becoming the first player to score for City in the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
Yaya Toure has enjoyed a stunning year. Having been named as the Confederation of African Football’s Player of the Year for the third successive year in January, he has also been nominated for the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year award in addition to this UEFA Team of the Year nomination.
A pivotal member of Manuel Pellegrini’s double-winning side, the Ivorian completed the 2013/14 campaign with an incredible 20 goals. Some of those were vital.
Memorably, he scored a breathtaking strike in the Capital One Cup final against Sunderland to equalise before netting his first senior hat-trick in a 5-0 win against Fulham at the end of March.
The midfielder has been nominated for this honour four times previously.
To vote for Pablo, Vincent and Yaya, visit UEFA.com.
Goalkeepers
Beto (Sevilla FC), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea FC), Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München)
Defenders
David Alaba (FC Bayern München), Medhi Benatia (FC Bayern München), Jérôme Boateng (FC Bayern München), Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid CF), Ezequiel Garay (FC Zenit), Diego Godín (Club Atlético de Madrid), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City FC), Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München), Miranda (Club Atlético de Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City FC)
Midfielders
Xabi Alonso (FC Bayern München), Arda Turan (Club Atlético de Madrid), Ángel Di María (Manchester United FC), James Rodríguez (Real Madrid CF), Koke (Club Atlético de Madrid), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid CF), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid CF), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Ivan Rakitić (FC Barcelona), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Arjen Robben (FC Bayern München), Yaya Touré (Manchester City FC)
Forwards
Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal FC), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid CF), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid CF), Diego Costa (Chelsea FC), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (FC Bayern München), Neymar (FC Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF), Jonatan Soriano (FC Salzburg), Carlos Tévez (Juventus)
