Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are in contention to be named in the 2024 FIFPRO Men’s World XI, having made the final 26-man shortlist released on Monday, Afrosport reports.
The final list is voted for by the players, with Ronaldo and Messi joined by 24 of the best footballers in the world, who enjoyed impressive performances for their respective clubs.
Messi has the most FIFPRO World XI appearances, having been named to the team 17 times, and the Argentine is followed closely by Ronaldo with 15 appearances.
The final shortlist includes three goalkeepers, seven defenders, eight midfielders, and eight forwards, with Manchester City having the highest representatives with seven.
🚨 These are the 26 nominees for the 2024 FIFPRO Men’s #World11, as voted by players.
🇧🇷 Ederson
🇦🇷 @EmiMartinezz1
🇩🇪 @Manuel_Neuer🇪🇸 @DaniCarvajal92
🇵🇹 @RubenDias
🇳🇱 @VirgilvDijk
🇳🇱 @JeremieFrimpong
🇩🇪 @ToniRuediger
🇫🇷 William Saliba
🏴 @KyleWalker2🏴 @BellinghamJude
🇧🇪… pic.twitter.com/mCgLn4dx4n— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) December 2, 2024
The prestigious FIFPRO Men’s World XI award sets out to make the best starting XI possible from a pool of more than 28,000 professional footballers across 70 countries around the globe.
Each player is expected to select the three top goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards from an original pool of 250 candidates.
The final list, however, is made up of a goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards, who amassed the highest number of votes to form the basis of the team. The remaining outfield player with the most votes is slotted in to complete the 11.
The final 11 players on the 2024 FIFPRO team will be announced on Monday, 11 December 2024.
Full 26-man final shortlist for 2024 FIFPRO Men’s World XI
Goalkeepers: Ederson, Emiliano Martínez, Manuel Neuer
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Rúben Dias, Virgil van Dijk, Jeremie Frimpong, Antonio Rüdiger, William Saliba, Kyle Walker
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Jamal Musiala, Rodri, Federico Valverde
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Cole Palmer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinícius Júnior, Lamine Yamal
