Barcelona are kings in Spain, Real Madrid in Europe, and the two clubs are doing battle again in the FIFPro awards.
The World Footballers’ Association along with FIFA have announced their shortlist of the best players for the 2017/18 season.
The two sides have a plethora of players nominated by FIFA to be in their team of the year, more than any other clubs, including Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
La Liga’s big three clubs – Real (11), Barca (10) and Atletico Madrid (3) – have 24 representatives on the list, which has been accumulated following the voting process conducted by 25,000 players across 65 countries.
Barca have Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Yerry Mina (now at Everton), Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta (since retired), Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho on the list.
At Madrid the candidates are Keylor Navas, Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Marcelo, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric; Isco, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is now at Juventus.
Surprisingly there is no Gareth Bale, who finished last season at a high level and scored two crucial goals in the Champions League final.
Thibaut Courtois is also on the list and he will do battle with his club-mate Navas.
Last season’s FIFPro World XI was: Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Alves, Ramos, Leonardo Bonucci, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.
London is the venue for the announcement of the 2018 FIFPro FIFA World XI, to be held on September 24.
Below are the nominations for each category:
GOALKEEPERS
Gianluigi Buffon – Italy, Juventus/Paris Saint-Germain; Thibaut Courtois – Belgium, Chelsea/Real Madrid; David De Gea – Spain, Manchester United; Keylor Navas – Costa Rica, Real Madrid; Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Germany, Barcelona.
DEFENDERS
Jordi Alba – Spain, Barcelona; Dani Alves – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain; Dani Carvajal – Spain, Real Madrid; Giorgio Chiellini – Italy, Juventus; Virgil van Dijk – Netherlands, Southampton/Liverpool; Diego Godin – Uruguay, Atletico Madrid; Mats Hummels – Germany, Bayern Munich; Joshua Kimmich – Germany, Bayern Munich; Dejan Lovren – Croatia, Liverpool; Marcelo – Brazil, Real Madrid; Yerry Mina – Colombia, Barcelona/Everton; Benjamin Pavard – France, Stuttgart; Gerard Pique – Spain, Barcelona; Sergio Ramos – Spain, Real Madrid; Thiago Silva – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain; Kieran Trippier – England, Tottenham; Samuel Umtiti – France, Barcelona; Raphael Varane – France, Real Madrid; Sime Vrsaljko – Croatia, Atletico Madrid/Inter Milan; Kyle Walker – England, Manchester City.
MIDFIELDERS
Sergio Busquets – Spain, Barcelona; Casemiro – Brazil, Real Madrid; Philippe Coutinho – Brazil, Liverpool/Barcelona; Kevin De Bruyne – Belgium, Manchester City; Eden Hazard – Belgium, Chelsea; Andres Iniesta – Spain, Barcelona/Vissel Kobe; Isco – Spain, Real Madrid; N’Golo Kante – France, Chelsea; Toni Kroos – Germany, Real Madrid; Nemanja Matic – Serbia, Manchester United; Luka Modric – Croatia, Real Madrid; Paul Pogba – France, Manchester United; Ivan Rakitic – Croatia, Barcelona; David Silva – Spain, Manchester City; Arturo Vidal – Chile, Bayern Munich /Barcelona.
FORWARDS
Karim Benzema – France, Real Madrid; Edinson Cavani – Uruguay, Paris Saint-Germain; Paulo Dybala – Argentina, Juventus; Antoine Griezmann – France, Atletico Madrid; Harry Kane – England, Tottenham; Robert Lewandowski – Poland, Bayern Munich; Romelu Lukaku – Belgium, Manchester United; Mario Mandzukic – Croatia, Juventus; Sadio Mane – Senegal, Liverpool; Kylian Mbappe – France, Paris Saint-Germain; Lionel Messi – Argentina, Barcelona; Neymar – Brazil, Paris Saint-Germain; Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal, Real Madrid/Juventus; Mohamed Salah – Egypt, Liverpool; Luis Suarez – Uruguay, Barcelona.