November 26 – The list of the final 55 players who have been voted by their professional playing peers for inclusion into the 2015 FIFA FIFPro World XI has been released, with only two players not playing in European leagues in the list.
The two players outside of European club football are Andrea Pirlo of Italy and now NY City FC, and Argentine Carlos Tevez who is at Boca Juniors. There were no players selected from the Brazilian or Mexican leagues.
FIFPro said it received a new record of 25,000 players from 70 countries participating in the ballot.
There were some interesting omissions and inclusions. Chelsea’s Diego Costa seems to be as unpopular among his professional colleagues as he is amongst the British press, but his senior and creaking colleagues in defence (John Terry and Branco Ivanovic) do make the list.
Voters were asked to select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards from any league in the world.
The FIFA FIFPro World XI will be announced on January 11, 2016, at the Ballon D’Or ceremony in Zurich.
The shortlist is:
Goalkeepers (5): Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain/FC Porto), David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich).
Defenders (20): David Alaba (Austria/FC Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/FC Barcelona), Jérôme Boateng (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Godín (Uruguay/Atlético Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia/Chelsea), Vincent Kompany (Belgium/Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Spain/FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphaël Varane (France/Real Madrid).
Midfielders (15): Thiago Alcántara (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Xabi Alonso (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/FC Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid), Andrea Pirlo (Italy/New York City FC), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia/FC Barcelona), James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City),Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/FC Bayern Munich).
Strikers (15): Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Douglas Costa (Brazil/FC Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (England/Manchester United), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona) and Carlos Tevez (Argentina/Boca Juniors).
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