More than 21,000 professional football players participated in voting to honor the best players of 2024.
The votes are in! FIFPRO, the Global Association of Professional Footballers, has announced the ‘World 11’ Team of the Year for 2024.
A total of 21,266 FIFPRO members have submitted their picks for the squad with the top players in each position named in the World 11. This year’s squad features five players from Premier League champions Manchester City and 2 players from the Spanish team lifted the European Championship in the summer.
However, FIFPRO later revealed that the player with the highest percentage of votes was Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham. He had an incredible first season with Real Madrid, winning La Liga and the Champions League, before helping England reach the EURO final. He was one of five Real Madrid players included in the World 11.
German legend Toni Kroos is named in World 11 in 2024 despite retiring after EURO in the summer. Previously, he had talked about his desire to retire from the top and he did so.
Many were surprised to see players like Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah left out, but the attacking trio of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior impressed.
World 11 was first introduced in 2005 and awards the best players in each position. Players around the world are provided with unique links to access the digital voting platform where they can make their choices.
Players choose their top three goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers and that data is compiled to create a top-picked team of inventions. This year is the first time since 2006 that Lionel Messi has not been named in the team, an incredible achievement for the Argentine.
FIFPRO World 11
Goalkeeper: Ederson (Manchester City)
Defender: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid); Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Rodri (Manchester City).
Strikers: Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappé (PSG/Real Madrid), Vinicius (Real Madrid).
FIFPRO World 11 women
In the women’s best squad, there were three Spanish players among those selected. Real Madrid’s Olga Carmona and Barcelona duo Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas. Previously, Spanish players were only selected five times: Vero Boquete (2020); Mapi Leon and Putellas (2022), Olga Carmona and Aitana Bonmati in 2023.
Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (Manchester United/PSG)
Defenders: Lucy Bronze (Barcelona/Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
Midfielders: Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Keira Walsh (Barcelona)
Forwards: Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid), Marta (Orlando Pride), Lauren James (Chelsea), Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride).