The winners of the Men's Team of the Year award are Real Madrid, reigning LaLiga and Champions League holders, with 43.1% of the votes from our panel of experts.
Near-perfect 2024
Winning the Champions League, LaLiga, European Supercup, Spanish Supercup and Intercontinental Cup crowned a spectacular year in which Real Madrid won five of the six possible trophies available to them. Something they had also achieved in 2017 under Zinedine Zidane.
This time Carlo Ancelotti was at the helm, having found in Jude Bellingham the lynchpin to build a very young and talented squad from the start of the 2023/24 season. The Englishman arrived in exchange for €103 million (the second most expensive signing in the club's history) and has taken on a leadership role in which he is brilliantly assisted by Vinicius Junior.
Well supported by players like Federico Valverde and Rodrygo, Real's number five and 20 helped Los Blancos win their 15th Champions League title by scoring four and six goals respectively, including one goal from Vini Jr. in the final at Wembley against Dortmund.
It was a trophy that, if anything, reinforced the dominance of the 'Kings of Europe' over the rest of the big clubs.
In LaLiga, the club's reign was unquestionable, winning 31 out of 38 matches in the 2023/24 season and being declared champions. Although the new season has not been quite as slick, they will still finish the year near the summit.
Meanwhile, Real started January with a 4-1 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final and also won the European Super Cup in August against Atalanta. The finale of an unforgettable 2024 was the Intercontinental Cup in Lusail, Qatar. This was a ninth tournament title for Los Blancos, which they won 3-0 against Mexico's Pachuca.
Team worthy of its history
No team has been as successful on the pitch as Real Madrid over the past couple of decades. In that period, the Santiago Bernabeu has welcomed six Champions League trophies into its museum, as well as four LaLiga titles, six Club World Cups/Intercontinental Cups, four Spanish Super Cups, five European Supercups and two Copa del Rey titles.
The club continues to add talent to its already strong squad. The latest addition is superstar Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real after a seven-year wait and is determined to make a name for himself at his beloved new home.
With the Frenchman, even if he is not yet at his best, Real Madrid will continue to enjoy success. Of course, Mbappe has all the qualities to take Los Blancos to the next level, as seen by his goals in both the European Supercup and Intercontinental Cup finals.
Hugely demanding 2025
Becoming Team of the Year is hard enough, but repeating it is even more difficult. In 2025, Real will again compete for all available titles, including the new Club World Cup next summer, which will bring together the most formidable teams in the world.
From now on, the aim is to stay at the top and hold off those who want to knock them off their throne. If they do half as well in 2025 as they did in 2024, that will be very difficult for other teams. The challenge is doing it without Toni Kroos and Nacho Fernandez while coping with the heavy losses of Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao to long-term injuries.