Premier League Has Most Players in Contention for FIFA FIFPRO World XI
The 55-man shortlist for the 2019 FIFA FIFPRO World XI has been revealed, with the Premier League boasting the most representation with 21 nominees.
FIFPRO released the shortlist on Thursday:
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La Liga is close behind England's top flight with 20 representatives on the shortlist.
The Premier League's representation is unsurprisingly dominated by champions Manchester City and UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool, who have seven players apiece on the shortlist. The Sky Blues also have Joao Cancelo, whom they signed from Juventus in the summer.
Barcelona are the club with the most nominees at nine, though they also have a further two summer captures—Frenkie de Jong and Antoine Griezmann—on the list.
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon—who spent last season at Paris Saint-Germain—has missed out on a nomination for the first time since the award began in 2005.
As such, team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo is now the only player to be nominated on all 15 occasions.
Buffon is one of 19 players who made the 2018 shortlist but did not make the cut this year. Of the 19 new nominees, 17 are appearing on the shortlist for the first time.
In terms of nationality, Brazil are the best-represented country with 10 players, while Heung-Min Son, Christian Eriksen and Andy Robertson are the first nominees from South Korea—and Asia—Denmark and Scotland, respectively.
