Did UEFA change TOTY formation to squeeze in Cristiano Ronaldo despite lesser votes?

UEFA had recently released the Team of the Year list for 2019, but not without controversy. The UEFA Team of the Year for 2019 included the likes of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Liverpool's Sadio Mane and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, however, reports suggest otherwise. It is reported that Cristiano Ronaldo was included later in the team by UEFA, inviting criticism.

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Did UEFA opt for 4-2-4 formation to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo?

According to reports in Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo had missed out on the 2019 UEFA Team of the Year as he received lesser votes from the fans than other players. However, it is now believed that UEFA rigged the Team of the Year to accommodate the Juventus star. UEFA decided to opt the 4-2-4 formation, with Lionel Messi, Sadio Mane, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo as the forwards.

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UEFA TOTY: 4-2-4 formation is used very rarely by UEFA

It is to be noted that 4-2-4 is used very rarely and was not used anytime recently. In 2017, UEFA had opted for 4-4-2 formation, followed by 4-3-3 in 2018. According to Daily Mail, the 4-2-4 formation was selected to ensure that Cristiano Ronaldo did not miss out on the team. Other players included in the UEFA Team of the Year include Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong along with Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne.

However, a UEFA official has given clarification on the issue stating that the 4-2-4 formation was used to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo due to his exploits in the UEFA Nations League which Portugal had won against the Netherlands last summer.

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Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned as Serie A's Most Valuable Player

Cristiano Ronaldo has seen a decline in his goal-scoring numbers since the past season. The Portuguese forward scored 28 goals in 43 appearances while bagging 10 assists as well in the previous season. He won the Serie A with Juventus, while also being crowned as the Most Valuable Serie A player of the year. However, he lost out against Lionel Messi for the 2019 Ballon d’Or award.

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Image Credit- Cristiano Ronaldo Twitter/ UEFA Champions League Twitter