Ronaldo, Messi lead 2017 FIFA World XI nominations (Lead, correcting intro)

Star forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi led the 55-man list of FIFA World XI nominations announced by FIFPro here on Wednesday.

A total of 25,000 professional footballers took part in a poll to nominate the best players. The footballers who received most votes in their line are on the list of 55.

Ronaldo (4) and Messi (5) share nine Ballon d'or amongst them and are favourites to add one more to the tally during the next award ceremony.

"FIFPro and its affiliated player associations invited professional footballers worldwide to pick a team of 1 goalkeeper, 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 attackers who were the best at their position during the 2016-2017 season," FIFPro said in a statement.

Real Madrid dominated the list after winning both La Liga and the Champions League in 2016-17, with Keylor Navas, Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, Isco, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo all in line to make the XI.

Pepe is listed as both a Real Madrid player and a Besiktas player, after moving to the Turkish team in the summer.

Champions League runners-up and Serie A champions Juventus had four players on the list comprising Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala.

English Premier League (EPL) champions Chelsea have three nominees in Eden Hazard, David Luiz and N'Golo Kante.

David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku (previously with Everton), Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic (formerly of Chelsea) represent Manchester United.

Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are nominated from Arsenal, while Philippe Coutinho is the only Liverpool player on the list.

Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe is the youngest player on the list, at the age of 18, fresh from sealing a loan move to PSG from Monaco. The teenager scored 27 goals in 60 games for the French champions last season.

However, Claudio Bravo, Hector Bellerin, Kevin de Bruyne, Dimitri Payet, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy are among the 12 players who were included last time but missed out this year.

The 2016 World 11 included Manuel Neuer, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The following is the list of 55 players:

Goalkeepers

Gianluigi Buffon-Italy, Juventus

David De Gea-Spain, Manchester United

Keylor Navas-Costa Rica, Real Madrid

Manuel Neuer-Germany, Bayern Munich

Jan Oblak-Slovenia, Atletico MadridDefenders

David Alaba-Austria, Bayern Munich

Jordi Alba-Spain, Barcelona

Dani Alves-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain

Jerome Boateng-Germany, Bayern Munich

Leonardo Bonucci-Italy, Juventus/AC Milan

Dani Carvajal-Spain, Real Madrid

Giorgio Chiellini-Italy, Juventus

Diego Godin-Uruguay, Atletico Madrid

Mats Hummels-Germany, Bayern Munich

Philipp Lahm-Germany, Bayern Munich (Retired)

David Luiz-Brazil, Chelsea

Marcelo-Brazil, Real Madrid

Javier Mascherano-Argentina, Barcelona

Pepe-Portugal, Real Madrid/Besiktas

Gerard Pique-Spain, Barcelona

Sergio Ramos-Spain, Real Madrid

Thiago Silva-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain

Samuel Umtiti-France, Barcelona

Antonio Valencia-Ecuador, Manchester United

Raphael Varane-France, Real Madrid

Midfielders

Thiago Alcantara-Spain, Bayern Munich

Sergio Busquets-Spain, Barcelona

Casemiro-Brazil, Real Madrid

Philippe Coutinho-Brazil, Liverpool

Eden Hazard-Belgium, Chelsea

Andres Iniesta-Spain, Barcelona

Isco-Spain, Real Madrid

N'Golo Kante-France, Chelsea

Toni Kroos-Germany, Real Madrid

Nemanja Matic-Serbia, Chelsea/Manchester United

Luka Modric-Croatia, Real Madrid

Mesut Ozil-Germany, Arsenal

Paul Pogba-France, Manchester United

Marco Verratti-Italy, Paris Saint-Germain

Arturo Vidal-Chile, Bayern Munich

Forwards

Gareth Bale-Wales, Real Madrid

Karim Benzema-France, Real Madrid

Edinson Cavani-Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain

Paulo Dybala-Argentina, Juventus

Antoine Griezmann-France, Atletico Madrid

Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Sweden, Manchester United

Harry Kane-England, Tottenham Hotspur

Robert Lewandowski-Poland, Bayern Munich

Romelu Lukaku-Belgium, Manchester United

Kylian Mbappe-France, Paris Saint-Germain

Lionel Messi-Argentina, FC Barcelona

Neymar-Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain

Cristiano Ronaldo-Portugal, Real Madrid

Alexis Sanchez-Chile, Arsenal

Luis Suarez-Uruguay, Barcelona

--IANS

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