Dias and De Bruyne have both been named on the 23-man shortlist for the 2021 FIFA FIFPRO World XI and Lucy Bronze has been nominated for the women’s team.
Voted for by professional footballers across the globe, the FIFPRO World XI celebrates the world’s finest footballers at the end of each calendar year.
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The goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards who received the most votes in their line will be selected for the World 11. The remaining spot will be assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes.
FIFA and FIFPRO will announce the 2021 Men’s World 11 on Monday 17 January 2022 during the ceremony of The Best FIFA Football Awards
Dias has enjoyed a wonderful 2021, leading City to Premier League and League Cup success in his first season at the Club – as well as helping us reach our first ever UEFA Champions League final - before impressing for Portugal at Euro 2020 in the summer.
His form this season has followed on from last, with a series of immaculate performances helping City to the top of the Premier League table after 16 games, as well as finishing top of our Champions League group with a game to spare.
De Bruyne, who was named in the 2020 FIFPRO World XI and has also been nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player, remains one of the world’s finest midfielders.
Like Dias, he was a key architect as City won two major trophies last season, before playing every game for Belgium at Euro 202 as they reached the quarter-finals.
FIFA’s current TheBest Women’s Player Bronze, who has been nominated to retain her title, has also been shortlisted for the Women’s XI.
Though she is yet to feature in the 2021/22 season, having undergone knee surgery over the summer, the defender helped City to break a number of league and Club records last season and scored in February’s 3-0 Manchester Derby win.
She also starred on the international stage, bagging a goal and two assists for England against Northern Ireland, and crafted two goals in successive games at the Olympics, as Team Great Britain reached the quarter-finals.
Congratulations to our trio!
MEN’S WORLD XI SQUAD:
In alphabetical order: name (club/current club, country)
Goalkeepers:
Alisson Becker (Liverpool FC, Brazil)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/Paris Saint-Germain, Italy)
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea FC, Senegal)
Defenders:
David Alaba (FC Bayern Munich/Real Madrid, Austria)
Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool FC, England)
Dani Alves (Sao Paulo/FC Barcelona, Brazil)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus FC, Italy)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City FC, Portugal)
Midfielders:
Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City FC, Belgium)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United FC, Portugal)
Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona, The Netherlands)
Jorginho (Chelsea FC, Italy)
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea FC, France)
Forwards:
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC/Manchester United FC, Portugal)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern Munich, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Internazionale FC/Chelsea FC, Belgium)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Neymar Junior (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
WOMEN’S WORLD XI SQUAD:
Goalkeepers:
Laura Benkarth (FC Bayern Munich, Germany)
Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea FC, Germany)
Christiane Endler (Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais, Chile)
Defenders:
Millie Bright (Chelsea FC, England)
Lucy Bronze (Manchester City FC, England)
Kadeisha Buchanan (Olympique Lyonnais, Canada)
Ellie Carpenter (Olympique Lyonnais, Australia)
Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea FC, Sweden)
Irene Paredes (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais, France)
Midfielders:
Estefania Banini (Levante UD/Atletico Madrid, Argentina)
Barbara Bonansea (Juventus FC, Italy)
Aitana Bonmati (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Delphine Cascarino (Olympique Lyonnais, France)
Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC, USA)
Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona, Spain)
Forwards:
Pernille Harder (Chelsea FC, Denmark)
Samantha Kerr (Chelsea FC, Australia)
Marta (Orlando Pride, Brazil)
Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal FC, The Netherlands)
Alex Morgan (Tottenham Hotspur/Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave FC, USA)
Gabrielle Onguene (CSKA Moscow, Cameroon)
Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign, USA)
