2014 FIFA World XI: Ronaldo, Messi lead star-studded cast, David Luiz surprise inclusion
The players have spoken.
The 2014 FIFA World XI was revealed on Monday at the annual Ballon d'Or gala, with 20,000 players worldwide voting to determine who cracked the star-studded lineup as one of the best at their position for the year.
Here are the results:
- Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain)
- Defender: David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
- Defender: Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
- Defender: Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany)
- Midfielder: Angel Di Maria (Manchester United and Argentina)
- Midfielder: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany)
- Midfielder: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain)
- Forward: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich and Netherlands)
- Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
- Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal)
Most are there on merit, but some are certainly riding a wave of popularity. We're looking at you, David Luiz.
The one award truly representative of footballers worldwide, @FIFPro proudly present the #WorldXI for 2014: pic.twitter.com/eDNWAT9pbc
— FIFPro (@FIFPro) January 12, 2015
Surprising as a couple of those inclusions may be, it does say a lot about the respect these players have from their peers when you consider the voting process:
FIFPro says for the team of the year there were 23,383 votes from players in 58 countrie
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 12, 2015