 "Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been included in the FIFPro Men's World 11 shortlist but Mohamed Salah has been ignored. Reutters")
Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo were named in the 2024 FIFPro Men’s World 11 shortlist that was announced on Monday, but the list did not include Liverpool’s Egyptian star Mohamed Salah. Messi and Ronaldo are among 26 players shortlisted for the FIFPro Men’s World 11 team. Messi plays for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, whereas Ronaldo represents Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.
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Salah has scored 13 goals and provided 11 assists in 20 matches for Liverpool this season, but fails to find a place in the players shortlisted for FIFPro Men’s World 11. In the 2023-24 season, Salah scored 25 goals and assisted 13 times in 44 matches across all competitions.
Salah has been pivotal for Liverpool this season, who are on top of both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League standings currently. Messi scored 23 goals and assisted 13 times in 25 matches for Inter Miami in the MLS this season. Ronaldo has scored 15 goals in 18 matches for Al Nassr in the ongoing season so far, while also assisting thrice.
Some of the other big names in the shortlist include Manchester City’s Rodri, Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. Bellingham’s Madrid teammate Kylian Mbappe has also made the shortlist, whereas Bayern Munich’s English striker Harry Kane also features. Another absentee is Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who was impressive last season and continues to impress this season as well. In 18 matches this season, Saka has scored seven goals and assisted 11 times.
Full list of shortlisted players for 2024 FIFPro World 11
Goalkeepers: Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain), Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen, Netherlands), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany), William Saliba (Arsenal, France), Kyle Walker (Manchester City, England)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium), Phil Foden (Manchester City, England), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany), Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany), Rodri (Manchester City, Spain), Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid, France), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina), Cole Palmer (Manchester City/Chelsea, England), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr, Portugal), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain).