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Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Lead 55-Man 2016 FIFA FIFPro World11 Shortlist
December 1, 2016
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both been included in the 55-man shortlist for the 2016 FIFA FIFPro World11, released on Thursday, which is dominated by FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich players.
All of Barca's first-choice XI from their 2015-16 title-winning team have been nominated—including Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar and now-departed duo Claudio Bravo and Dani Alves.
The same is true for Real's 2015-16 UEFA Champions League winners.
| 2016 FIFA FIFPro World11 Shortlist | |
| Position | Nominees |
| Goalkeeper | Claudio Bravo (Chile/Barcelona/Manchester City), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/Bayern Munich). |
| Defender | David Alaba (Austria/Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/Barcelona), Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast/Paris Saint-Germain), Hector Bellerin (Spain/Arsenal), Jerome Boateng (Germany/Bayern Munich), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy/Juventus), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/Barcelona/Juventus), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea), Diego Godin (Uruguay/Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund/Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Germany/Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Spain/Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphael Varane (France/Real Madrid). |
| Midfielder | Xabi Alonso (Spain/Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/Barcelona), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), N’Golo Kante (France/Leicester City/Chelsea), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Germany/Arsenal), Dimitri Payet (France/West Ham United), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus/Manchester United), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich). |
| Striker | Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus), Antoine Griezmann (France/Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina/Napoli/Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/Barcelona) and Jamie Vardy (England/Leicester City). |
| FIFA | |
Conversely, Atletico Madrid, who lost in the Champions League final and finished three points behind Barca in La Liga in 2015-16, have only two nominees—Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann—while N'Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy are the only players included from Leicester City's Premier League-winning side.
The nominees were announced on the World11 Twitter feed:
Vardy is the only Englishman to be nominated, with Manchester United's Wayne Rooney absent from the shortlist for the first time in the 12-year history of the FIFPro World11.
Bundesliga champions Bayern have nine nominees, including Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski, while Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are two of six from Serie A champions Juventus.
Premier League-based nominees include Kevin De Bruyne, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sergio Aguero, Dimitri Payet, David De Gea, Mesut Ozil and, somewhat surprisingly given his poor 2015-16 form, Eden Hazard.
Per FIFA, the World11 is voted for exclusively by more than 25,000 professional players from across 75 different countries, and the final team will be confirmed on January 9, 2017.