The FIFA FIFPRO Men's World XI had an unusual look to it when announced during this year's awards ceremony in Paris.
For the first time in 15 years, Cristiano Ronaldo was not included as part of the selection. In the Al-Nassr player's absence, Lionel Messi became the first man to be included in 16 consecutive teams.
The pair were both featured for the first time back in 2007, when Ronaldo was classed as a midfielder and picked alongside Steven Gerrard and Kaka with the latter named player of the year. They would remain constants in the XI over the next decade and a half, swapping that trophy between themselves numerous times until Luka Modric ended their duopoly in 2018.
READ MORE: United and City stars named in FIFPro World XI - but Ronaldo misses out
The XI, FIFPRO proudly claims, is 'the only global player award decided exclusively by footballers'. They say that 18,640 players from 68 countries submitted their votes for the 2022 XI.
Ronaldo left United earlier in the season and although he played a part for Portugal in the World Cup, he found himself out of the XI in the latter stages of the tournament. While one former United player wasn't involved, a current one was as Casemiro made the cut in midfield alongside Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and Modric. There was also City representation up front as Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema were joined by Erling Haaland, while Bayern Munich loanee Joao Cancelo featured alongside Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Achraf Hakimi in the three-man backline in front of former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
After missing out this time around, Ronaldo would have to make history all over again to earn a recall. No player playing their football outside of the top tiers in England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands or Spain has been named in the XI since it was first introduced.
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