Premier League Has Strong Presence on FIFPro's Men's World XI Shortlist

The Premier League put 21 players on the 55-player shortlist, reflecting a season in which four English clubs reached the two European finals.

FIFPro have released the 55-player shortlist of the individuals nominated for the 2019 FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI, with the Premier League perhaps unsurprisingly a dominant force after four English clubs reached both major European finals last season.

There are 21 Premier League-based players on the list of nominees, which is one more than players from La Liga. That represents a major shift as La Liga has been the most commonly featured national league in each of the previous nine years.

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That being said, Real Madrid and Barcelona both have more players than Liverpool and Manchester City, whose seven nominations are the most for a Premier League club. However, there is a wider base in England that also includes Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.

This is the first time in the World XI award’s 15-year history that Gianluigi Buffon has not appeared on the shortlist. It is also the first time Andres Iniesta has missed out since 2007.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is the first Asian player to be named on a World 11 shortlist, while in total there are 17 players for whom 2019 is their first time. Liverpool left back Andrew Robertson is the first Scottish player included.

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2019 FIFA FIFPro Men's World 11 Nominees

Goalkeepers (5)	Alisson Becker (Brazil & Liverpool) David De Gea (Spain & Manchester United) Ederson Moraes (Brazil & Manchester City) Jan Oblak (Slovenia & Atletico Madrid) Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany & Barcelona)
Defenders (20)	Jordi Alba (Spain & Barcelona) Trent Alexander-Arnold (England & Liverpool) Daniel Alves (Brazil & Paris Saint-Germain/Sao Paulo) Joao Cancelo (Portugal & Juventus/Manchester City) Daniel Carvajal (Spain & Real Madrid) Giorgio Chiellini (Italy & Juventus) Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands & Liverpool) Diego Godin (Uruguay & Atletico Madrid/Internazionale) Joshua Kimmich (Germany & Bayern Munich) Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal & Napoli) Aymeric Laporte (France & Manchester City) Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands & Ajax/Juventus) Gerard Pique (Spain & Barcelona) Sergio Ramos (Spain & Real Madrid) Andrew Robertson (Scotland & Liverpool) Alex Sandro (Brazil & Juventus) Thiago Silva (Brazil & Paris Saint-Germain) Raphael Varane (France & Real Madrid) Marcelo Vieira (Brazil & Real Madrid) Kyle Walker (England & Manchester City)
Midfielders (15)	Sergio Busquets (Spain & Barcelona) Casemiro (Brazil & Real Madrid) Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium & Manchester City) Christian Eriksen (Denmark & Tottenham Hotspur) Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands & Ajax/Barcelona) Eden Hazard (Belgium & Chelsea/Real Madrid) N'Golo Kante (France & Chelsea) Toni Kroos (Germany & Real Madrid) Arthur Melo (Brazil & Barcelona) Luka Modric (Croatia & Real Madrid) Paul Pogba (France & Manchester United) Ivan Rakitic (Croatia & Barcelona) Bernardo Silva (Portugal & Manchester City) Dusan Tadic (Serbia & Ajax) Arturo Vidal (Chile & Barcelona)
Forwards (15)	Sergio Aguero (Argentina & Manchester City) Karim Benzema (France & Real Madrid) Roberto Firmino (Brazil & Liverpool) Antoine Griezmann (France & Atletico Madrid/Barcelona) Harry Kane (England & Tottenham Hotspur) Robert Lewandowski (Poland & Bayern Munich) Sadio Mane (Senegal & Liverpool) Kylian Mbappe (France & Paris Saint-Germain) Lionel Messi (Argentina & Barcelona) Neymar (Brazil & Paris Saint-Germain) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal & Juventus) Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Liverpool) Son Heung-min (South Korea & Tottenham Hotspur) Raheem Sterling (England & Manchester City) Luis Suarez (Uruguay & Barcelona)

More than 23,000 elite players have cast votes and the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI team will consist of one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.

The final selection will be announced at the 2019 Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in Milan on September 23.