Manchester United right-back Antonio Valencia has earned a surprise nomination 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.
MORE : The Man Utd XI featuring Cristiano Ronaldo that couldn’t beat Burton in 2006
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