Real Madrid’s management was visibly surprised in recent hours by the announcement of the FIFPro 2025 Team of the Year, the list of the world’s best 11 players.
Only one Real Madrid player, Jude Bellingham, made the cut, despite the harsh criticism the Englishman faced, even from his own club, due to his declining individual form last season. Kylian Mbappé, winner of the Golden Boot and Real Madrid’s top scorer with 38 goals across all competitions, was conspicuously absent.
According to the newspaper AS, Real Madrid officials are baffled by Mbappé’s exclusion from FIFA’s Best XI, arguing that the Frenchman’s contributions, even without winning team titles, were sufficient to warrant his inclusion.
Mbappé finished third in the voting for The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2025 award, behind Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal, further fueling the bewilderment at his omission from the FIFPro Team of the Year.
This isn’t the first time a player has received a high ranking in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award and then missed out on the FIFPro World XI. Mohamed Salah was a prominent victim of this in 2018 and 2021, when he also finished third but was excluded from the team.
Ultimately, Real Madrid can’t change anything, but the club will continue to support Mbappé both on and off the pitch. Meanwhile, the player will use last season as extra motivation to get back on track and win team trophies with Los Blancos this season.
