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There are 55 players on the shortlist for this year’s FIFA FIFPro World11, who will be whittled down to a starting XI that would likely be able to breeze past any side they were to face – if ever the fantasy side were to become a reality. Within the 55, and the eventual 11, there are some other intriguing numbers. FIFA.com takes you through the figures behind the superstars that make up this year’s shortlist.
9players are making their debut on this year’s FIFA FIFPro World11 shortlist. Serge Aurier, Hector Bellerin, Leonardo Bonucci, Kevin De Bruyne, Paulo Dybala, Antoine Griezmann, N’Golo Kante, Dimitri Payet, and Jamie Vardy are all making their bow. They certainly do not lack experience though – across the nine, they boast an average of close to 30 international caps each.
3players are returning to the FIFA FIFPro World11 after a period of absence. Claudio Bravo last appeared in 2014, after his FIFA World Cup™ heroics for Chile - likewise Mesut Ozil after he lifted the trophy for Germany in Brazil. Gonzalo Higuain, though, has had a much longer wait than that pair – returning to the shortlist for the first time since 2010.
2players have been ever-present on the 55-man FIFA FIFPro World11 shortlists, for 12 editions in a row: the seemingly ageless Gianluigi Buffon and the inimitable Cristiano Ronaldo. Andrea Pirlo and Wayne Rooney had been among every shortlist from 2005-2015, but did not make the 55-man list this time around.
20different nations are represented in this year’s FIFA FIFPro World11. Of those countries, seven have a single representative in the 55-man shortlist: Austria (David Alaba), Costa Rica (Keylor Navas), England (Jamie Vardy), Côte d’Ivoire (Serge Aurier), Poland (Robert Lewandowski), Sweden (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) and Wales (Gareth Bale). Spain have the most players on the list, with ten Spaniards making the cut.
12club sides, all in Europe, have current players on the shortlist for the 2016 FIFA FIFPro World11. Real Madrid are the most-represented club side, with a full 11, meaning their players make up a fifth of the 55-man shortlist. Following close behind are Barcelona and Bayern Munich with nine apiece. Clubs from the ‘big five’ countries, England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, make up the entirety of the 55 – with Spanish sides having 22 players
13players on the shortlist secured three major trophies in 2015/16 – combined across their international and club sides. Only six finished their respective seasons empty-handed, for both their club and national side, although half of those players (Diego Godin, Griezmann and Payet) reached at least one final – with Griezmann falling at the final hurdle twice, in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA EURO 2016.
11is the average squad number for the 55 players on this year’s shortlist, for their club sides at the beginning of the 2016/17 season. David Luiz has the highest squad number, No30, at Chelsea, with each of the five goalkeepers on the list – somewhat unsurprisingly – donning the No1 at their respective club sides.
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