Portugal’s Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the 23 players nominated for the 2023 Eleven of the Year by the World Professional Footballers’ Union (FIFPro), the organization announced this Wednesday.
Silva and Diaz, both of whom play for Manchester City, won the English League, Champions League, FA Cup and Club World Cup with the English club last year, while Ronaldo, 38 and currently playing for Al Nassar of Saudi Arabia Arabia, became the top scorer of the calendar year, scoring 54 goals, including 10 for Portugal, in Euro 2024 qualifying.
The Madeiran striker is just one of three players on the list who play outside of Europe, along with Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, USA) and Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad, Saudi Arabia).
Manchester City and Real Madrid are the most represented clubs in this 23-player ‘squad’. Ederson, Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, John Stones and Kyle Walker join the Portuguese duo for City.
The merengue players include Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao, Bellingham, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger and Thibaut Courtois.
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) and Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) complete the self-composed list football players.
The top eleven will be announced on January 15 at the FIFA The Best Gala.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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