Eden Hazard, Antonio Valencia, N'golo Kante, Alexis Sanchez and Philippe Make FIFPro World 11 Nominations

Manchester United right-back Antonio Valencia is the surprise nominee for this year’s FIFPro World 11 – an all-star world XI compiled every year. Big names from the Premier League such as Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Arsenal pair Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are among the more established big names to also make the final 55 names.

While Valencia has been something of an unsung hero for United in recent times, it is questionable if he is really anywhere near the calibre of some of the other names to make the list, even among those at his own club.

Fellow United stars Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, David de Gea and Nemanja Matic have also been nominated, while, as ever, star names from European giants Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate.

Valencia would do well to make the final cut given the competition he faces, with Dani Alves, Philipp Lahm and Daniel Carvajal surely all stronger contenders for the right-back spot.

Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho are others from the Premier League to get a nomination, but one or two eyebrows may be raised at no one from Manchester City getting a look-in.

FIFPro 11 nominees in full

Manchester United

Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Valencia, David de Gea, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic

Chelsea

Eden Hazard, David Luiz, N’Golo Kante

Arsenal

Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil

Liverpool

Philippe Coutinho

Tottenham

Harry Kane

Real Madrid

Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Isco, Dani Carvajal, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane

Barcelona

Javier Mascherano, Samuel Umtiti, Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Andres Iniesta

Atletico Madrid

Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Diego Godin

Paris Saint-Germain

Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Thiago Silva, Kylian Mbappe, Dani Alves, Marco Verratti

Bayern Munich

Manuel Neuer, Thiago Alcantara, Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba

Juventus

Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini

AC Milan

Leonardo Bonucci

Besiktas

Pepe

Sergio Aguero would surely be a stand-out contender from the squad at the Etihad Stadium, while the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva may also feel harshly overlooked.

Players from around the world will get to vote on the final team, with voting closing in December and the line up announced at a special event in January.

Source: Metro

Comments

Juventus Manager Allegri Signs Contract Extension Untill 2020

Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new contract with Juventus, keeping him with the Serie A side until 2020, the Turin outfit have confirmed. The 49-year-old will remain at Juventus Stadium for another three seasons, having guided the Old Lady to a third successive domestic double. Allegri helped Juve win the Serie A and Copa Italia titles this season, and guided them to the Champions League final. Since taking over at Juventus Stadium in 2014, he has won the domestic double each season and has a 69 per cent winning rate. The former midfielder had been linked with a move to Arsenal before Arsene Wenger agreed a new two-year deal, but will now remain in Turin until the end of the 2019-20 season. In a statement, Juventus said: "Juventus is pleased to announce that Massimiliano Allegri has signed a contract renewal at the club until 2020. "Today's agreement extends a working relationship that has seen the Bianconeri consolidate their position as Italy's...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Could Make Man United Return this Year, Says Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is confident Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for Manchester United before the end of the year. The Swedish striker - who has been regularly updating his Instagram followers of his rehabilitation from a knee injury - has this week begun doing some very light ball work with the club's coaching staff at Carrington. Ibrahimovic signed a new one-year deal at United on August 24 after the first serious injury of his career cut short a stellar first season at Old Trafford earlier this year. The player's doctor Freddie Fu has warned against rushing his return and United boss Jose Mourinho had previously suggested he will not play for the club in January but has reassessed that prediction. "(Paul) Pogba is not here I don't know when he will be back," he said. "Zlatan is working under our control here as I would expect. He is working so, so hard but he won't be back in the next week or the next couple of weeks. "He nee...

Barcelona Summer Signing Ousmane Dembele Suffers Fresh Injury Blow

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday. The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth £93.4m plus €40m in add-ons. The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club. Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half. But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that th...

Plauseorminus

Search This Blog