Can you imagine a team that combines the greatest players in the biggest leagues on the planet, 11 top-class footballers brought together regardless of their nationalities and clubs to form a side on the basis of their outstanding talent and, even more importantly, the recognition of their colleagues? Well, that is the very concept behind the FIFA FIFPro World XI.<\/p>\n
The 55-man shortlist for the prestigious award, which is bestowed on the best 11 players of the year, was revealed on Friday following a vote involving nearly 25,000 footballers active in 70 countries around the world, a reflection of the award slogan: “For the players, by the players.”\n<\/p>\n
A total of five goalkeepers, 20 defenders, 15 midfielders and 15 forwards were announced as the finalists for the award, which is now in its seventh year and is a joint initiative by FIFA and FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for all professional footballers.<\/p>\n
We know you want to find out who will make the star-studded dream team of 2015, but you will have to wait until 11 January and the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala to find out which 11 players earn selection.<\/p>\n
Goalkeepers:<\/strong> Gianluigi Buffon (Italy\/Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain\/FC Porto), David De Gea (Spain\/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica\/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany\/FC Bayern Munich).<\/p>\n Defenders:<\/strong> David Alaba (Austria\/FC Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain\/FC Barcelona), Jérôme Boateng (Germany\/FC Bayern Munich), Daniel Carvajal (Spain\/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy\/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil\/FC Barcelona), David Luiz (Brazil\/Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Godín (Uruguay\/Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany\/Borussia Dortmund), Branislav Ivanovi\u0107 (Serbia\/Chelsea), Vincent Kompany (Belgium\/Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Germany\/FC Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil\/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina\/FC Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal\/Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Spain\/FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain\/Real Madrid), John Terry (England\/Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Brazil\/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphaël Varane (France\/Real Madrid).<\/p>\n Midfielders:<\/strong> Thiago Alcântara (Spain\/FC Bayern Munich), Xabi Alonso (Spain\/FC Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain\/FC Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Belgium\/Chelsea), Andrés Iniesta (Spain\/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany\/Real Madrid), Luka Modri\u0107 (Croatia\/Real Madrid), Andrea Pirlo (Italy\/New York City FC), Paul Pogba (France\/Juventus), Ivan Rakiti\u0107 (Croatia\/FC Barcelona), James Rodríguez (Colombia\/Real Madrid), David Silva (Spain\/Manchester City),Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire\/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy\/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile\/FC Bayern Munich).<\/p>\n Strikers:<\/strong> Sergio Agüero (Argentina\/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales\/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France\/Real Madrid), Douglas Costa (Brazil\/FC Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal\/Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 (Sweden\/Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland\/FC Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina\/FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany\/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil\/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands\/FC Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (England\/Manchester United), Alexis Sánchez (Chile\/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay\/FC Barcelona) and Carlos Tevez (Argentina\/Boca Juniors).<\/p>\n Incredible prizes up for grabs!<\/strong> Shirts and balls signed by the world’s greatest players are yours to win. All you have to do is peruse the list, pick out the stars who you think will make the final XI and settle back in anticipation of your prize. You have until 8 January to make your selections.<\/p>\n FIFA.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Can you imagine a team that combines the greatest players in the biggest leagues on the planet, 11 top-class footballers brought together regardless of their nationalities and clubs to form a side on the basis of their outstanding talent and, even more importantly, the recognition of their colleagues? Well, that is the very concept behind the FIFA FIFPro World XI.<\/p>\n The 55-man shortlist for the prestigious award, which is bestowed on the best 11 players of the year, was revealed on Friday following a vote involving nearly 25,000 footballers active in 70 countries around the world, a reflection of the award slogan: “For the players, by the players.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[12693],"class_list":["post-24365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-football-news","tag-fifa-fifpro-world-xi"],"yoast_head":"\n
To make the wait a little more bearable, FIFA.com is offering you an unmissable opportunity – the chance to win exclusive prizes by using your insight to select the 11 team members with the FIFA FIFPro World XI Predictor which will be coming soon.<\/p>\n