Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are officially part of the finalists for the 2023 FIFA FIFPRO World 11. It’s important to remember that this award is exclusively decided by the vote of professional players.
The eleven stars selected for the prestigious individual trophy will be announced on January 15 during the The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London. The best XI lineup of the year.
Of course, the biggest surprise among the 23 nominees is Cristiano Ronaldo considering he was previously snubbed by FIFA as a finalist for the Men’s Player of the Year Award.
The Portuguese legend has been sensational with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia becoming the top scorer in the world in 2023 with 54 goals. Now, he could appear in the same stage with Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the biggest surprise for the 2023 FIFA FIFPRO World 11 (Getty Images)
Who are the 2023 FIFA FIFPRO World 11 finalists?
Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe lead the votes casted by more than 28 000 players from all around the world to find the best footballers at each position in the period from December 19 of 2022 until August 20 of 2023.
The final XI lineup will have a goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. This means Messi, CR7, Haaland and Mbappe are fighting for three spots. These are the finalists by position:
see also
US Navy veterans are furious with the bodyguard of Lionel Messi
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).
see also
Not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo: AI picks the best player of all time
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).
