Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Headline Full 2019 UEFA Team of the Year

UEFA has named its Team of the Year for 2019, with European champions Liverpool dominating the selection alongside Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. 

The Reds have five players in the XI, which was confirmed on the UEFA Champions League Twitter account on Wednesday:

Virgil van Dijk was a colossus at the back for Jurgen Klopp's side, while full-backs Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold excelled. Goalkeeper Alisson Becker is at the base, while Sadio Mane is among the forwards selected.

Liverpool posted the following on their Twitter account after the result of the poll was confirmed:

Elsewhere, Juventus and Barcelona have two representatives each. 

Messi and Ronaldo unsurprisingly make the cut after successful years, while Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Light are also included; they both shone for Ajax last term before joining Barca and Juve, respectively.

The remaining two players have enjoyed exceptional starts to the 2019-20 season, with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski one of the game's best goalscorers this year and Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne arguably the Premier League's standout player.

Liverpool won the Champions League in June, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. They've backed up that success by dominating the English top flight this term; they sit 14 points clear of City in the race for the prize.

It's been a long time since any team in English football were able to get the better of the Reds:

Given their dominance in the Premier League and progression into the Champions League knockout stages, at this point it wouldn't be a surprise if next year's team was dominated by Liverpool again.

There aren't many signs of Messi or Ronaldo slowing down on an individual level, though.

Only Lewandowski found the back of the net more often than Messi in European football's top five leagues in the previous calendar year:

Ronaldo was crucial to Juventus winning the Serie A title in his debut season at the club and is primed for another big year. Champions League glory will be on his radar, as will success in the summer, when Portugal look to successfully defend their European Championship title.

Despite winning a domestic treble in 2019, City only have one representative in De Bruyne. The Belgium international is on track to break a Premier League record in 2020:

De Ligt and De Jong were both sensational for Ajax in the previous season, although they have each had mixed starts to life at their new clubs. 

They will both be expected to make further strides in the coming months, having inspired the Dutch giants to an unlikely Champions League semi-final appearance in the previous campaign.