Real Madrid lead the way with 12 players nominated on the 55-man shortlist for FIFPro and FIFA’s 2015 World XI.
Nearly 25,000 professionals from 70 countries took part in this year’s ballot, and Madrid came out on top in terms of nominees – slightly ahead of Bayern Munich (11) and Barcelona (10).
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are in line to make the final team for a ninth time, with Messi’s Barca team-mate Andres Iniesta on course for a seventh appearance.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City each have four players on the list, while Juventus and Chelsea have three apiece.
According to isoccerng, 14 teams made the shortlist: three from La Liga (Atlético’s Godin avoided a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Barca), four from the Premier League, two from the Bundesliga, one from Serie A, one from Portugal’s top flight, one from Argentina and one from the MLS.
Eleven Spaniards also made the cut: Iker Casillas, David de Gea, Jordi Alba, Dani Carvajal, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Alcántara, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and David Silva.
Germany and Brazil follow Spain at a distance with six nominees each. Behind them are Argentina and Italy with four. In total, players from 21 different countries made the shortlist.
The FIFA/FIFPro World XI is chosen by professional footballers from all over the world, who vote for the best player in each position.
The 2015 team of the year will be announced at the Ballon d’Or gala event on 11th January 2016 in Zurich, and it will be made up of one keeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three strikers.
The 55-player shortlist in full:
Goalkeepers (five): 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/Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/Barcelona), Jerome Boateng (Germany/Bayern Munich), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/Barcelona), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Godin (Uruguay/Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia/Chelsea), Vincent Kompany (Belgium/Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Germany/Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Spain/Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphael Varane (France/Real Madrid).
Midfielders (15): Thiago Alcantara (Spain/Bayern Munich), Xabi Alonso (Spain/Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andres Iniesta (Spain/Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid), Andrea Pirlo (Italy/New York City), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/Barcelona), James Rodriguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City),Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/Bayern Munich).
Forwards (15): Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Douglas Costa (Brazil/Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (England/Manchester United), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suarez (Uruguay/Barcelona) and Carlos Tevez (Argentina/Boca Juniors).
Posted by Janice Johnson
