FIFA FIFPRO World XI: Chelsea dominate but Mohamed Salah a glaring omission

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Jonathan Gorrie14 December 2021

Chelsea, rather unsurprisingly, have four players named in the 23-man shortlist for FIFA FIFPRO World XI after their Champions League triumph in May against Manchester City.

Jorginho, Edouard Mendy and N’Golo Kante all feature alongside Romelu Lukaku, although his inclusion will have been based on the excellent form he enjoyed with both Inter Milan and Belgium for much of 2021.

It is the first time in 17 years the shortlist has been narrowed down to 23 instead of 55 and FIFA will ask professional footballers across the game to vote for their three best players during the 2020/21 season.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United are both included alongside Manchester City counterparts Ruben Dias and Kevin De Bruyne.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only English player on the list and, while Liverpool teammate Alisson Becker joins him, Mohamed Salah looks a glaring omission.

The forward controversially finished seventh in this year’s Ballon d'Or rankings despite some hugely impressive form in 2021 and appeared to laugh at that fact when it was put to him recently.

The full XI will be announced on January 17, 2022.

Full list: Alisson Becker, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Edouard Mendy, David Alaba, Jordi Alba, Trent Alexander-Anrold, Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Ruben Dias, Sergio Busquets, Kevin De Bruyne, Frenkie De Jong, Bruno Fernandes, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, Robert Lewadowski, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar

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