The 2025 World XI from the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) was full of surprises, the most notable being the exclusion of Mohamed Salah despite his phenomenal season with Liverpool.
Salah led Liverpool to the Premier League title last season and won the Premier League Golden Boot, but that wasn’t enough for FIFPro to include him in the squad.
What’s surprising about the squad, supposedly chosen by more than 26,000 professional players from 68 countries around the world, is the inclusion of Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, despite him being one of the club’s weakest performers last season, with Los Blancos finishing the entire season without a single trophy.
As expected, Paris Saint-Germain players dominated the squad with four representatives, in addition to the outstanding Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s top scorer, Kylian Mbappé.
FIFPro’s 2025 World XI is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester City, Italy)
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands), Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England), Cole Palmer (Chelsea, England), Pedri (Barcelona, Spain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, Portugal)
Attackers: Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid, France), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
