Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe all named in FIFPro XI shortlist

Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe have all been named in FIFA’s FIFPro Men’s Team of the Year shortlist.

Ronaldo’s name is perhaps the most notable inclusion given his difficult 2022, which saw him dropped and then exiled from the Manchester United team, before leaving Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils before the World Cup, eventually joining Saudi outfit Al Nassr.

Ronaldo’s Portugal then crashed out of the 2022 Qatar showpiece to Morocco at the quarter-final stage.

There is precious little English representation, with Bellingham – so impressive for Borussia Dortmund and England, especially in Qatar – the only player from the Three Lions to make the 26-man list.

Unsurprisingly, the likes of Messi, Haaland and Mbappe make the cut, while there are also appearances for young, stellar Barcelona duo Pedri and Gavi.

The final XI will be named at FIFA’s The Best awards on February 27.

The list is voted for exclusively by players, with performances between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022 taken into account.

FULL 26-MAN SHORTLIST

Goalkeepers

• Alisson Becker (Liverpool, Brazil)
• Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
• Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)

Defenders

• Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/Bayern Munich, Portugal)
• Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, Canada)
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
• Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
• Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
• Theo Hernandez (AC Milan, France)
• Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid, Germany)
• Thiago Silva (Chelsea, Brazil)

Midfielders

• Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, England)
• Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United, Brazil)
• Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
• Enzo Fernandez (River Plate/Benfica/Chelsea, Argentina)
• Gavi (Barcelona, Spain)
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Spain)
• Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
• Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)

Forwards

• Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
• Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City, Norway)
• Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona, Poland)
• Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
• Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
• Neymar Jr (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Al Nassr, Portugal)