Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the players named to FIFA’s shortlist for the FIFPro team of the year. The former Manchester United forward could be considered a surprise inclusion in the 26-man list, having had a troubled career since the summer, when his relationship with Manchester United began to deteriorate, leading to a bitter exit.
Despite being the club’s top scorer last season with 24 goals, the forward began the season out of favour at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag after demanding to leave after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League.
With no interest from other European clubs, the Portuguese has since joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Furthermore, the veteran 38-year-old lost his starting spot in Portugal’s starting XI during the World Cup in Qatar, where his country was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morocco.
Jude Bellingham, who is enjoying a steady rise for club and country, is also on the list. The 19-year-old has established himself as an important player for Borussia Dortmund while also breaking into Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
Despite England’s quarter-final loss to France in Qatar, the Liverpool and Manchester City transfer target had a positive World Cup with the Three Lions and is the only English player named in the squad.
There are a number of star players on the shortlist, with Lionel Messi a clear favourite to make the final XI following his World Cup exploits with Argentina, where he won the competition as well as being named player of the tournament.
Erling Haaland, who has played for both Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City in the last year, has also been named to the shortlist.
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and World Cup Young Player of the Tournament and new Chelsea arrival Enzo Fernandez, who moved to Stamford Bridge from SL Benfica for a British transfer record of 107 million pounds in January.
Goalkeepers
Alisson Becker (Liverpool, Brazil)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Defenders
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/Bayern Munich, Portugal)
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, Canada)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
Theo Hernandez (AC Milan, France)
Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid, Germany)
Thiago Silva (Chelsea, Brazil)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, England)
Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United, Brazil)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Enzo Fernandez (River Plate/Benfica/Chelsea, Argentina)
Gavi (Barcelona, Spain)
Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Spain)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona, Poland)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (PSG, Argentina)
Neymar Jr (PSG, Brazil)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Al Nassr, Portugal)
