THE FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI was released during The FIFA Best Awards and included some familiar names such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk.
The Argentina captain’s presence was unsurprising, with the attacker going on to win the Best Men’s Player on the night, but he was the only 2018-19 Barcelona player in the squad.
Frenkie de Jong, who joined the Spanish champions in the summer, was part of the XI alongside Matthijs de Ligt, following the pair’s performances with Ajax and the Netherlands last year.
They were not the only Dutch stars in the side, with Virgil van Dijk included after his outstanding showings for Liverpool last campaign as they won the Champions League.
His team-mate Alisson was selected in the XI and was also crowned the Best Fifa Men’s Goalkeeper of the year.
The only other Premier League player in the team was Eden Hazard, who was included after a phenomenal season for Chelsea in 2018-19.
The Belgian netted 21 goals and provided 17 assists last term, with his form being so exemplary throughout the campaign that he earned a summer transfer to Real Madrid.
Hazard now, of course, plays alongside Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modric, who were all included in the 2019 World XI, somewhat surprisingly after Los Blancos’ sub-par season.
Former Galactico Cristiano Ronaldo was also part of the fantasy team, along with Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.
No Manchester City players were included in the XI, despite Pep Guardiola’s men having earned 98 points in the Premier League and winning a domestic treble of trophies.
Full team:
Allison (Liverpool/Brazil)
Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain)
Van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands)
De Ligt (Ajax/Netherlands)
Marcelo (Real Madrid/Brazil)
Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
De Jong (Ajax/Netherlands)
Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium)
Mbappe (PSG/France)
Ronaldo (Juventus/Portugal)
As for the Women’s XI, it included England star Lucy Bronze and the Best Women’s Player, Megan Rapinoe.
Full team:
Van Veendaal (Arsenal/Netherlands)
Bronze (Lyon/England)
Fischer (Wolfsburg/Sweden)
O’Hara (Utah Royals/USA)
Renard (Lyon/France)
Ertz (Chicago Red Stars/USA)
Henry (Lyon/France)
Lavelle (Washington Spirit/USA)
Morgan (Orlando Pride/USA)
Rapinoe (Reign FC/USA)
Marta (Orlando Pride/Brazil)
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
These awards are odd. Players in Asia and Africa, for all the will in the world, are gonna keep voting for Madrid players etc because those have the big names. Marcelo? Modric, who by all accounts had his worst season in a decade? No Man City players but 3 from Madrid, after they finished miles behind Barca last season and got turned over by Ajax?
Odd
@James Doyle: might add, Ramos at right back… A position he hasn’t really played in since he was 19. Strange.
Robertson can feel hard done by, can’t see how Marcelo deserves to be in.
How is there 3 madrid players and no City players in that team?
These “awards” go out to the highest bidders ……..
Man city must have missed the memo !
Subjective stuff. 3 awards ceremonies a bit much too. A racket.
Marcelo Ramos and modric out
Robertson TAA and Bernardo in
Could argue a few more but they should be definite