UEFA Team of the Year 2019: N’Golo Kante snubbed to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo despite the former receiving more votes than the Juventus star.
UEFA unveiled their Team of the Year 2019, voted for by the fans, on Wednesday. The revelation however, left the fans a little surprised. The European governing body had changed their formation from the usual 4-3-3 to 4-2-4.
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The line-up, saw Cristiano Ronaldo pair with Robert Lewandowski on the front. It also features Sadio Mane and Lionel Messi on the flanks. Kevin De Bruyne and Frenkie De Jong were fielded behind them while Liverpool trio, Virgil Van Dijk and the fullback pairing of Andrew Robertson were joined by Matthijs De Ligt in defence with Alison on goal.
🎇 #TeamOfTheYear 2019 revealed! 🎇
More than 2 million votes were cast – thanks for taking part! 🙌
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 15, 2020
Ronaldo included in the place of N’Golo Kante
It is the Portuguese’s inclusion however, that has left many scratching their head. Despite his success over the years, Ronaldo was not at his best last season. In fact, that UEFA officials delayed the unveiling of the side by a decade; As per the Daily Mail, to manoeuvre the Juventus star in the side.
It appears that Ronaldo has taken the place of Chelsea star N’Golo Kante; who was set to be a part of the midfield trio with De Bruyne and De Jong. However, with the change of formation allowed UEFA to include the popular Ronaldo instead.
However, a spokesperson for UEFA attempted to explain the scandalous decision. They claimed that Portugal’s success in the UEFA Nations League was the catalyst for the formation change.
“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. The formation changes on a regular basis and this year is no exception.”
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