Al Nassr forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, currently the highest goal scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 20 goals, has featured on the 2023 Federation of International Football Association’s FIFPro team shortlist.
The FIFA FIFPro which is the only global football award decided exclusively by professional footballers with over 28,000 professional footballers who have cast their votes also features 2022 World Cup winner for Argentina, Lionel Messi.
Others on the list include Paris Saint-Germain captain, Kylian Mbappe; Real Madrid sensation, Jude Bellingham; Manchester City treble winner, Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich striker, Harry Kane, and former Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema.
As stated by FIFPro, the goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards who have received the most votes will be selected for the World 11, and will be unveiled at The Best FIFA Football Awards in London, England, on Monday, January 15.
The players were nominated for their performances from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023, and the players selected must have played at least 23 games within the period.
In the women’s category, World Cup winners Aitana Bonmati and Jenni Hermoso were nominated. Also on the list is Chelsea’s women’s duo of Lauren James and Sam Kerr.
See the full list below:
2023 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 Finalists
Goalkeepers
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium), Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil) and Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina).
Defenders
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands), Eder Militao (Real Madrid, Brazil), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany), John Stones (Manchester City, England) and Kyle Walker (Manchester City, England).
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid, England), Kevin De Bruyne, (Manchester City, Belgium), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City/Barcelona, Germany), Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia), Rodri (Manchester City, Spain), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal) and Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay).
Forwards
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/Al-Ittihad, France), Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/Bayern Munich, England), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain/Inter Miami, Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr, Portugal) and Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil).
