The much-awaited shortlist of FIFA FIFPro World XI is finally out, with a large pool of conspicuous talents. While regular members of the ultimate team are in the shortlist, a few expected names have been omitted. Elsewhere, a host of newcomers have made the cut.
The FIFPro is a worldwide organisation for over 65,000 footballers, made up of 60 players' associations and governed by 11 board members, five candidate members and five observers.
Since 2009, the union joined hands with FIFA and started the FIFA FIFPro World XI list, which would be picked by professional footballers themselves. No prizes for guessing, the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate the shortlist every year.
Amongst the best players to have ever played the game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have featured in the best XI a record 11 times. The final XI will be disclosed at the Best FIFA Football Awards in London on September 24.
Here, we will decode which league has done the best in terms of player selection in the 55-man waiting list.
Note: Example - Cristiano Ronaldo earned a spot in this list for his performances whilst playing in LaLiga for Real Madrid. Hence, his name will be included in the Spanish top division and not under Serie A.
#5 Serie A: 4 players
The Italian Serie A possesses four players who have made it to the last 55. Gianluigi Buffon, who had been Juventus' most distinguished performer for a number of years is amongst the top five shot-stoppers. He switched to Paris Saint-Germain over the summer.
Three other Juventus players have made their league proud. The solid Giorgio Chiellini has kept his place, along with the forwards - Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala.
A couple of names to have missed out are Juventus' Gonzalo Higuain and AC Milan's Leonardo Bonucci. Unfortunately for Bonucci, he failed to make the 20-man defender list that comprises of eight newcomers.
#3 Bundesliga and Ligue 1: 5 players each
The German and French top flights are joint-third with five representations each.
From Ligue 1, all five nominees are from Paris Saint-Germain. The deadly yet mesmerizing trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani picked themselves, whereas the combativeness and robustness of Dani Alves and Thiago Silva were added too.
Benjamin Pavard has garnered praise for his displays at Stuttgart and the World Cup, which has helped his cause. While none of the glove men from this division has made it, a host of defenders including Mats Hummels, debutant Joshua Kimmich and Pavard were included.
Elsewhere, Arturo Vidal, who started a new project at Barcelona, made the list. Robert Lewandowski's finishing abilities, sharpness and strength have helped him to a spot in the 15-man attackers' list.
The omission of Thiago Alcantara would come as a shock to many.
#2 Premier League: 16 players
The Premier League sees a stunning 16 of its players in the list. David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois gained a spot for their commanding performances in goal for Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. One could argue Jordan Pickford should have been included, as he was absolutely spectacular, for both club and country.
Kyle Walker's exploits last season for Manchester City and his World Cup performances have been recognized, while the centre-back duo of Dejan Lovren and Virgil Van Dijk have been encompassed.
Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic have all done the PL proud by occupying five places in a 14-man midfield shortlist. Mohamed Salah's heroics last season could simply not be ignored either.
Sharpshooters in Harry Kane, Sadio Mane and Romelu Lukaku have been incorporated too. Big names such as Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez, Sergio Aguero and Mesut Ozil aren't on the list.
#1 LaLiga: 25 players
Well, LaLiga establishes itself as the best league in terms of talent if this shortlist is taken into account. The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the familiar faces in this pool of players.
10 out of the 20 defenders are from the Spanish top division. Top players such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Jordi Alba, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal have been included. Yerry Mina makes his debut appearance in this list too.
The entirety of Barcelona and Real Madrid's midfield stars seem to have made it, including World Cup hero Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Philippe Coutinho, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Isco and Ivan Rakitic. Strikers Karim Benzema and Luis Suarez made the cut as well.
Diego Godin, Antoine Griezmann and Sime Vrsaljko are the only players from a team other than Barcelona and Real Madrid to feature from LaLiga.
Gareth Bale, who scored 21 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid, wasn't considered. He also netted a couple of them in the Champions League final, including an absolute screamer of a bicycle kick.