Spanish powerhouses Barcelona have the best players in Europe at the moment, and the UEFA Team of the Year shortlist is a testament to that once more.

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The La Liga giants have as many as eight players in the UEFA's 40-man shortlist for the 2015 Team of the Year, and only German giants Bayern Munich and Italy's Juventus come second. Both teams have six players each.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated for the 12th straight time, the Portugal international was also named in the team of the year, for a record eighth time last year.

Barcelona hotshot Lionel Messi has also been a part of UEFA's team of the year for six successive times.

Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, 21, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen, became the youngest player to be nominated, while Italy veteran Gianluigi Buffon, 37, is the oldest player in the list.

Only five players from the Premier League make it to the 40-man list. A total of four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, midfielders, and strikers, have been nominated for the Team of the Year. Football fans can vote for their favourite team until 5 January, 2016 on the official website of UEFA.

The result will be declared three days later.

Complete list of nominated players:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Denys Boyko (Dnipro).

Defenders: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), David Luiz (Paris St-Germain), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Verratti (Paris St-Germain), Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), James Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen).

Forwards: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Barcelona), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).