FIFPRO World XI nominees include Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Neymar, and Dani Alves

The list of 23 nominees for the 2021 FIFPRO Team of the Year has been announced, with the XI to be announced as part of FIFA's The Best ceremony on January 17, 2022.

Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are the only two Spain players included, while Barcelona will have two further players hoping to make the XI as Dani Alves and Frenkie de Jong have been nominated. From elsewhere in LaLiga Santander, Karim Benzema and David Alaba of Real Madrid are in contention to make the XI.

Previous editions have seen 55 players nominated, but this year that number has reduced to 23 for the first time. As many as 18,947 votes were cast by players from 69 different countries.

Dani Alves a surprise inclusion

Barcelona full-back Dani Alves is a surprise nominee, spending a considerable portion of the year without playing football.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is perhaps the most notable absence, while there's also no room for Cesar Azpilicueta, Giorgio Chiellini, Toni Kroos nor Luka Modric.

The full list of nominees is as follows

Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker (Liverpool & Brazil), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/Paris Saint-Germain & Italy), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea & Senegal) .

Defenders: David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid & Austria), Jordi Alba (Barcelona & Spain), Dani Alves (Sao Paulo/Barcelona & Brazil), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool & England), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus & Italy), Ruben Dias (Manchester City & Portugal).

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona & Spain), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City & Belgium), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona & Netherlands), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United & Portugal), Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea & France).

Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid & France), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund & Norway), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich & Poland), Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan/Chelsea & Belgium), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain & Argentina), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United & Portugal).