Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to break into the 2018-19 Serie A Team of the Year after his worst goal-scoring record in a decade.
In his debut season in Italy following his £99million transfer last summer window, the former Real Madrid man managed to score just 28 goals.
That’s poor when compared to Ronaldo’s best-ever total of 61 strikes for Los Blancos in the 2014-15 season.
Now, his comparatively disappointing campaign has seen him miss out on the 2018/19 Team of the Year in Seria A as Duvan Zapata is joined by Josip Ilicic and Dries Mertens in the attacking positions instead.
In fact, despite winning their eighth Serie A title in a row only two Juventus players made the list – Joao Cancelo and midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
Inter Milan’s Samir Handanovic made the goalkeeper’s spot, with Napoli’s sought-after dedender Kalidou Koulibaly in the heart of defence.
Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi joins the Senegal defender at centre-back with ex-Manchester City full-back Aleksandar Kolarov on the left.
Napoli star Fabian Ruiz and Papu Gomez – one of three Atalanta players in the team – join Pjanic in the midfield trio.
But five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, 34, will still be disappointed to miss out on the team.
After all, a return of 28 goals in 43 matches would be regarded as a strong campaign for most players – such is the high standard set by the Portugal international.
Another surprising omission from the line-up was Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella – who led the Italian league in goals scored with 26.
