- UEFA have revealed their Team of the Year voted by fans.
- The formation chosen has appeared to be 4-2-4.
- It’s been made to include Cristiano Ronaldo who finished fourth in the forwards voting.
- Messi, Mane and Lewandowski all won more votes than the Portuguese.
- N’Golo Kante, who should’ve made it instead, has been omitted.
- UEFA have explained such a decision by Portugal’s Nations League triumph.
On Wednesday, January 15, UEFA revealed the XI which was picked by the football fans for the team of the year in 2019.
However, the unusual formation (4-2-4) left the supporters puzzled.
As the Daily Mail claims this happened because Cristiano Ronaldo finished fourth in the forwards’ category: behind Leo Messi, Sadio Mane and Robert Lewandowski.
UEFA bosses didn’t like that one bit and came to decision to include the Portuguese anyway at the expense of one midfield player. Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante reportedly fell their victim.
The TOTY should have been revealed last week but the decision UEFA took on Ronaldo and the subsequent changes provoked the delay.
The Daily Mail’s source has explained: “This is really not good. It is effectively vote-rigging. Such is Ronaldo’s popularity at a senior level within the organisation, alarm bells sounded when he did not make the cut and, as a result, the formation was changed. It makes you wonder what else they get up to.”
A UEFA spokesperson has shared the governing body’s view on the issue: “The formation for this year’s team of the year was chosen to reflect the votes of the fans in parallel with the players’ achievements in UEFA competitions,’ they said.
“As a result, there are five UEFA Champions League winners and four UEFA Nations League finalists (including one winner). The formation changes on a regular basis and this year is no exception.”
This incident once again put the integrity of the query and the motives behind such a decision.
Barca, meanwhile, have two players in the XI: Leo Messi and Frenkie de Jong, who, unlike Ronaldo, didn’t need any vote meddling to get into the line-up.
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