FIFA unveils 55-player shortlist for 2016 FIFPro World XI aka Team of the Year

The 55-player shortlist for the 2016 FIFPro World XI has been announced by FIFA.

It’s that time of the year for FUT enthusiasts. Time to get excited for Team of the Year and the thought of packing one of those beautiful blue cards. FIFA will announce the 2016 FIFPro World XI on January 9 at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony. Those 11 players will receive special cards for a limited time shortly after.

The release of Team of the Year is one of the biggest events on the FIFA gaming calendar.

The usual suspects like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Neymar have made the list, but so have some rather interesting names. The biggest battle will be for the midfield spots where you have the likes of N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne, Andres Iniesta, Luka Modric, and Dimitri Payet, just to name a few, all worthy of consideration.

While the attacking players may be predictable, this year offers us the chance to receive some new faces in the Team of the Year. Here’s the full list. Let us know in the comments who you have in your World XI and who you hope gets a blue card.

The 55-player shortlist: (home country/club)

Goalkeepers (5): Claudio Bravo (Chile/FC Barcelona/Manchester City), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), David de Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich).

Defenders (20): David Alaba (Austria/FC Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/FC Barcelona), Serge Aurier (Côte d’Ivoire/Paris Saint-Germain), Héctor Bellerìn (Spain/Arsenal), Jérôme Boateng (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy/Juventus), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona/Juventus), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea), Diego Godín (Uruguay/Atlético Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund/FC Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Spain/FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphaël Varane (France/Real Madrid).

Midfielders (15): Xabi Alonso (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/FC Barcelona), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), N’Golo Kanté (France/Leicester City/Chelsea) Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid), Mesut Özil (Germany/Arsenal), Dimitri Payet (France/West Ham United), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus/Manchester United), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia/FC Barcelona), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/FC Bayern Munich).

Strikers (15): Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus), Antoine Griezmann (France/Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina/Napoli/Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona) and Jamie Vardy (England/Leicester City).