FIFPRO and FIFA proudly announce the 23 players who received the most votes for the 2021 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11, the only global player award organised by the players and for the players.
FIFPRO and FIFA asked professional footballers worldwide to vote for the World 11. We requested them to pick the three players who, in their opinion, were the most outstanding players during the 2020/2021 season in the following positions: goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. For the first time in 17 years, FIFPRO is updating the announcement about the most-voted players, reducing the shortlist from 55 to 23. This has been done to resemble a real-life “squad” which, usually for international competitions, is the number of players involved.
The three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards with the most votes earned a place in the 23-men World 11 “squad”. To complete this elite selection, the two remaining outfield players with the most votes were added.
The 23 players in the World 11 squad are: In alphabetical order:
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Brazil/Liverpool FC) Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy/AC Milan/Paris Saint-Germain) Édouard Mendy (Senegal/Chelsea FC) Defenders: David Alaba (Austria/FC Bayern München/Real Madrid CF) Jordi Alba (Spain/FC Barcelona) Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool FC) Dani Alves (Brazil/São Paulo FC/FC Barcelona) Leonardo Bonucci (Italy/Juventus FC) Rúben Dias (Portugal/Manchester City FC) Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Spain/FC Barcelona) Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City FC) Bruno Fernandes (Portugal/Manchester United FC) Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands/FC Barcelona) Jorginho (Italy/Chelsea FC) N’Golo Kante (France/Chelsea FC) Forwards: Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid CF) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus FC/Manchester United FC) Erling Haaland (Norway/ BV Borussia 09 Dortmund) Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern München) Romelu Lukaku (Belgium/FC Internazionale Milano/Chelsea FC) Kylian Mbappé (France/Paris Saint-Germain) Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain) Neymar (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
Which of the 23 players will make the World 11?
The goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards who received the most votes in their position will be selected for the World 11. The remaining spot in the World 11 will be assigned to the remaining outfield player with the next highest number of votes.
FIFA and FIFPRO will announce the 2021 Men’s World 11 on Monday 17 January 2022 during the ceremony of The Best FIFA Football Awards.
Content on social media about the World 11 can be found at: www.twitter.com/FIFPRO www.instagram.com/FIFPRO www.facebook.com/FIFPRO Official hashtag: #World11 Facts and figures:
This is the first time that FIFA and FIFPRO present a 23-player World 11 squad.
This is the 17th edition of the World 11. FIFPRO created this player-only vote in 2005 and has always presented 55-player shortlists.
FIFPRO and FIFA started their World 11 cooperation in 2009.
FIFPRO received 18,947 votes from players in 69 countries.
The World 11 squad includes 12 players who have already won a World 11 award: Becker, Alexander-Arnold, Alves, Bonucci, De Bruyne, De Jong, Kanté, Lewandowski, Mbappé, Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo.
Messi and Ronaldo share the record for most World 11 awards: they have 14 each.
Ronaldo is the only player to appear on all shortlists since the World 11 was created. Messi makes his 16th appearance, Alves his 15th.
Three players make their first appearance on a shortlist: Dias, Jorginho and Mendy.
Brazil, France and Italy all have three players in the World 11 squad: Becker, Alves and Neymar (Brazil), Kanté, Benzema and Mbappé (France), and Donnarumma, Bonucci and Jorginho (Italy).
Five players from last year’s World 11 did not receive enough votes for a spot in the squad: Thiago Alcântara, Alphonso Davies, Virgil van Dijk, Joshua Kimmich and Sergio Ramos.
Ramos ranks third on the all-time list, with 11 World 11 awards. He was a member of the previous 10 World 11s (since 2011).
Last year’s World 11 consisted of Becker, Alexander-Arnold, Davies, Van Dijk, Ramos, Alcântara, De Bruyne, Kimmich, Lewandowski, Messi and Ronaldo.