Ademola Lookman was missing on the list of 24 players released by FIFPRO ahead of the unveiling of the 2024 World XI, Sports247 reports.
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Ademola Lookman was voted as the 14th best player in the world during the 2024 Balon d’Or award but his name was conspicuously missing as the 26 finalists for the World XI were unveiled despite his high level of performance in 2023/2024 seaon.
The finalists contain the names of top 26 best performers of the year as voted for, by the professional footballers themselves as over 21,000 men’s footballers from 70 countries cast their votes for the best 26 performers between 21 August 2023 and 14 July 2024.
According to the footballers global body, only players who have appeared in at least 30 official matches during the evaluation period is eligible to be voted for as member of the World XI,
The World XI with 4-3-3 formation will be unveiled on December 9, 2024, FIFPRO stated.
“The goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards who have received the most votes will be selected for the World XI. ”
“The final spot in the World XI will be assigned to the remaining outfield player with the next highest number of votes.” FIFPRO explained.
The lone goalkeeping spot will contested by Ederson of Manchester, Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa and Manuel Nuer of Bayern Munich .
A total of seven defenders made the finalists cut of which only the top four with the highest number votes will make the World XI.
The midfield will be keenly contested for by top rated eight players while the attack has veterans like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo competing with new breeds like Holland, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal for the final three places in the attack.
Ademola Lookman can shift attention to the 2024 CAF Awards which will take place in Morocco on December 16, where he is the favourite to win the 2024 Africa men Player of the year.
Here is the full list of players that made the FIFPRO World XI
Goalkeepers
Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Defenders
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid, Spain)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen, Netherlands)
Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany)
William Saliba (Arsenal, France)
Kyle Walker (Manchester City, England)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Phil Foden (Manchester City, England)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Germany)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Rodri (Manchester City, Spain)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid, France)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina)
Cole Palmer (Manchester City/Chelsea, England)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr, Portugal)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain).
