Lionel Messi (37, Inter Miami) was not named in the ‘FIFPRO men’s World 11’, which is selected by votes from active professional soccer players, for the first time in 18 years.
On the 10th, FIFPRO released this year’s World 11 list of the best performers for each position on its website. The World 11 consists of 3 attackers, 4 midfielders, 3 defenders, and 1 goalkeeper. 21,266 male professional players from 70 countries around the world participated in this year’s World 11 selection vote.
Messi has been listed in the world’s top 11 strikers every year for 17 years from 2007 to last year, but this year he was not ranked in the top three among strikers.According to FIFPRO, Messi ranked 4th among strikers and 12th among all players in this vote.
Messi, who has been selected in the World 11 17 times, holds the record for the most in this category. Second place is Cristiano Ronaldo (39, Al-Nasr), who was named 15 times.Messi and Ronaldo were listed side by side on this year’s final candidate list (26 people), but neither was selected for the World 11. Among the final candidates, the only players playing for non-European clubs were Messi and Ronaldo. Ronaldo has not been selected in the World 11 for three consecutive years starting in 2022.
Messi played in 19 games in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) this season, scoring 20 goals and providing 16 assists, leading his team Inter Miami to its first-ever regular season title. However, the players who participated in the vote gave more votes to the next generation of strikers playing in europe than to Messi.
The three striker positions in this year’s World 11 were occupied by erling Holland (24,Manchester City),Kylian Mbappe (26),and Vinicius Junior (24,Real Madrid). Holland has been the top scorer for two consecutive seasons as his debut in the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2022-2023 season, and is challenging his third consecutive win this season. Mbappe, who has been playing for Real Madrid in Spain’s La Liga since this season, was the French Ligue 1 top scorer six times with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) until last season. Vinicius, who has excellent breakthrough ability, led his team Real to the top in the UEFA Champions League last season by scoring 6 goals and 5 assists.
▽International Football Players Association World 11
△Goalkeeper: Ederson (Manchester City)
△Defender: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
△Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester city), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Rodri (Manchester city)
△ Forward: Erling Holland (Manchester City) Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Reporter Jeong Yun-cheol trigger@donga.com