The FIFA FIFPro World XI was announced at the FIFA’s The Best awards for 2022 featuring the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland. However, the most notable absentee was Al Nassr forward and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo who was snubbed from the best eleven for the first time in 15 years. The 38-year-old nonetheless had a year to forget having had endured a torrid relationship with former side Manchester United which eventually led to a contract termination and a lucrative transfer to Saudi side Al Nassr.
On Tuesday (IST) during FIFA’s The Best awards, the top 11 players in the world of football—as chosen by their fellow players—were announced as the FIFPro World XI for 2022. While there were only two inclusions from Argentina’s World Cup winning side in Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martinez, the Premier League had four representations in Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne, Virgil van Dijk and Casemiro.
Real Madrid trio Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Thibaut Courtois were also included, alongside PSG duo Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi. The Bundesliga had only one representation in Man City loanee to Bayern Munich, Joao Cancelo.
Lionel Messi takes home The Best award; makes the FIFPro XI for 16th time in a row
Lionel Messi finally completed his trophy cabinet by winning the World Cup in December last year, and was without a doubt the FIFPro’s highlight inclusion. The 35-year-old forward is more than deserving of inclusion based on his performances for club side Paris Saint-Germain as well as for whom he has netted an impressive 17 goals and provided 16 assists in just 28 games.
Kylian Mbappe was also in the eleven given his spectacular goal-scoring performances for France despite being on the losing side in Qatar and club Paris Saint-Germain. Messi and Mbappe’s PSG teammate Achraf Hakimi, who was also a star for his country Morocco in their run up to the semifinals at the World Cup, is also listed among the honorees.
Many of Real Madrid’s Champions League winners also demonstrated enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup. The trio of Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, and Luka Modric all contributed to the Spanish giants winning their 14th Champions League title and another La Liga title.
Casemiro, a former Los Blancos, also earned a spot in the lineup after contributing significantly, as he hopes emulate the exploits for his new side Manchester United. However, after helping the Red Devils win the Carabao Cup at Wembley Stadium, he is undoubtedly off to a terrific start. There was still plenty of room for Premier League players in Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, Manchester City trio Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Joao Cancelo who left for Bayern on loan last month.
Robert Lewandowski’s stunning exclusion is notable given that he has won the Best FIFA Men’s Player award each of the last two years. Prior to moving to Barcelona, the Pole retained his explosive form for Bayern Munich throughout the entire year, and has maintained that goal-scoring form at Camp Nou as well.
FIFPRO Men’s World11: Thibaut Courtois; Achraf Hakimi, Virgil van Dijk, Joao Cancelo; Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Casemiro; Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland.