Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronalo made it to the 26-man shortlist of the FIFAPRO team, despite not playing in Europe for a while now. The team was announced on Monday, 2 December and caught the ire of the fans when established stars like Mohamed Salah were not present in the team. Salah, who has guided Liverpool to the top of the Premier League, has been enjoying a terrific season, one of the best in his career.
The 37-year-old Messi and 39-year-old Ronaldo were the only players not with clubs in Europe to be voted on a 26-man shortlist for the World Team of the Year organised by the global players’ union FIFPRO on Monday. The other 24 nominees played in the past year with clubs in England, Germany, Spain, and France, though Kylian Mbappé was the only French connection after spending last season at Paris Saint-Germain.
No player from any Italian club was selected, nor from any club in South America or Africa. Eight players from Real Madrid, including Mbappé, Vincius Jºnior, and Jude Bellingham, were on the shortlist, along with seven from Manchester City, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Erling Haaland. Yamine Lamal, the 17-year-old from Barcelona who was the breakout star of Spain’s European Championship title, also made it in polling by union members worldwide.
Messi, now playing in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, and Ronaldo, in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, will find out on Dec. 9 if they are in the World XI lineup. FIFPRO said the final team will include the highest-polling goalkeeper, plus the top three vote-getters among defenders, midfielders, and forwards. The final place goes to the outfield player with the next highest votes total.
The Netherlands-based union said 28,000 players from 70 countries submitted votes.
Goalkeepers
Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)
Emiliano Martnez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Defenders
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain)
Rºben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen, Netherlands)
Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany)
William Saliba (Arsenal, France)
Kyle Walker (Manchester City, England)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Phil Foden (Manchester City, England)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Rodri (Manchester City, Spain)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid, France)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
Cole Palmer (Manchester City/Chelsea, England)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr, Portugal)
Vincius Jºnior (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
