Uefa Team of the Year 2014: Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa Nominated

Chelsea duo Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa, Manchester City trio Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure, Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez and United record signing Angel Di Maria have been nominated by Uefa to form part of its Team of the Year for 2014.

Uefa have included the seven Premier League stars in the shortlist of 40 nominees – four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielder and 12 forwards – and Uefa.com users have the power to pick the final best XI.

Courtois, Costa, Di Maria and Sanchez have been included due to their merits at their previous clubs, before they moved to the Premier League in the summer.

Meanwhile, Zabaleta, Kompany and Toure were crucial in Manchester City's successful last campaign, winning both the Premier League and the Capital One Cup.

Former Atletico Madrid star Courtois, who is also a candidate to be the best goalkeeper in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, was the keeper who conceded the fewest goals in La Liga and was one of the main assets in Diego Simeone's side's run to the Champions League final.

His teammate Costa scored 27 goals in 35 La Liga games for Atletico Madrid before completing a £32m move to Chelsea in the summer.

Di Maria was one of Real Madrid's best players during the last campaign, leading his side to victories in both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey before moving to Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Sanchez scored 19 La Liga goals for Barcelona before joining Arsenal.

The list of candidates:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Beto (Sevilla).

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Diego Godín (Atlético), Joao Miranda (Atlético), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Jerome Boateng (Bayern), Medhi Benatia (Bayern), David Alaba (Bayern), Ezequiel Garay (Zenit), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Angel Di María (Manchester United), Arjen Robben (Bayern), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), James Rodríguez (Real Madrid), Koke (Atlético), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Yaya Touré (Manchester City), Arda Turan (Atlético).

Forwards: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Diego Costa (Chelsea), Thomas Müller (Bayern), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern), Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Jonathan Soriano (Red Bull Salzburg), Carlos Tévez (Juventus), Neymar (Barcelona).