Amsterdam, Sept 20: Star forwards Cristiano Roldo and Lionel Messi led the 55-man list of FIFA World XI nomitions announced by FIFPro here on Wednesday.
A total of 25,000 professiol footballers took part in a poll to nomite the best players. The footballers who received most votes in their line are on the list of 55.
Roldo (4) and Messi (5) share nine Ballon d’or amongst them and are favourites to add one more to the tally during the next award ceremony.
“FIFPro and its affiliated player associations invited professiol footballers worldwide to pick a team of 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 attackers who were the best at their position during the 2016-2017 season,” FIFPro said in a statement.
Real Madrid domited the list after winning both La Liga and the Champions League in 2016-17, with Keylor vas, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Isco, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Roldo all in line to make the XI.
Pepe is listed as both a Real Madrid player and a Besiktas player, after moving to the Turkish team in the summer.
Champions League runners-up and Serie A champions Juventus had four players on the list comprising Gianluigi Buffon, Leordo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala.
English Premier League (EPL) champions Chelsea have three nominees in Eden Hazard, David Luiz and N’Golo Kante.
David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku (previously with Everton), Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic (formerly of Chelsea) represent Manchester United.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are nomited from Arsel, while Philippe Coutinho is the only Liverpool player on the list.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe is the youngest player on the list, at the age of 18, fresh from sealing a loan move to PSG from Moco. The teeger scored 27 goals in 60 games for the French champions last season.
However, Claudio Bravo, Hector Bellerin, Kevin de Bruyne, Dimitri Payet, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are among the 12 players who were included last time but missed out this year.
The 2016 World 11 included Manuel Neuer, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Andrés Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Roldo.
The following is the list of 55 players:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon-Italy, Juventus, David De Gea-Spain, Manchester United, Keylor vas-Costa Rica, Real Madrid, Manuel Neuer-Germany, Bayern Munich, Jan Oblak-Slovenia, Atletico Madrid
Defenders: David Alaba-Austria, Bayern Munich, Jordi Alba-Spain, Barcelo, Dani Alves-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain, Jerome Boateng-Germany, Bayern Munich, Leordo Bonucci-Italy, Juventus/AC Milan, Dani Carvajal-Spain, Real Madrid, Giorgio Chiellini-Italy, Juventus, Diego Godin-Uruguay, Atletico Madrid, Mats Hummels-Germany, Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm-Germany, Bayern Munich (Retired), David Luiz-Brazil, Chelsea, Marcelo-Brazil, Real Madrid, Javier Mascherano-Argenti, Barcelo, Pepe-Portugal, Real Madrid/Besiktas, Gerard Pique-Spain, Barcelo, Sergio Ramos-Spain, Real Madrid, Thiago Silva-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain, Samuel Umtiti-France, Barcelo, Antonio Valencia-Ecuador, Manchester United, Raphael Varane-France, Real Madrid
Midfielders: Thiago Alcantara-Spain, Bayern Munich, Sergio Busquets-Spain, Barcelo
Casemiro-Brazil, Real Madrid, Philippe Coutinho-Brazil, Liverpool, Eden Hazard-Belgium, Chelsea, Andres Iniesta-Spain, Barcelo, Isco-Spain, Real Madrid, N’Golo Kante-France, Chelsea, Toni Kroos-Germany, Real Madrid, Nemanja Matic-Serbia, Chelsea/Manchester United, Luka Modric-Croatia, Real Madrid, Mesut Ozil-Germany, Arsel, Paul Pogba-France, Manchester United, Marco Verratti-Italy, Paris Saint-Germain, Arturo Vidal-Chile, Bayern Munich
Forwards: Gareth Bale-Wales, Real Madrid, Karim Benzema-France, Real Madrid, Edinson Cavani-Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain, Paulo Dybala-Argenti, Juventus, Antoine Griezmann-France, Atletico Madrid, Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Sweden, Manchester United, Harry Kane-England, Tottenham Hotspur, Robert Lewandowski-Poland, Bayern Munich, Romelu Lukaku-Belgium, Manchester United, Kylian Mbappe-France, Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi-Argenti, FC Barcelo, Neymar-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain, Cristiano Roldo-Portugal, Real Madrid, Alexis Sanchez-Chile, Arsel, Luis Suarez-Uruguay, Barcelo. (IANS)