Hommam Al Nassim 
The International Professional Footballers’ Association (FIFPRO) on Wednesday unveiled the final list of candidates for the ideal squad of players for 2023.
The 23 players with the highest percentage of votes were selected from footballers in the member associations.
The selection is based on their performance from 1 August 2022 to 20 August 2023, and the final squad will be announced at The Beast Awards in London on 15 January under the auspices of FIFA.
The list came with a diverse squad that includes players who are good in various positions.
– Goalkeeper:
- Belgian Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid).
- Brazilian Ederson (Manchester City).
- Argentine Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa).
– In the defensive line:
- Portuguese Ruben Diaz (Manchester City).
- Dutchman Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
- Brazilian Eder Militão (Real Madrid).
- German Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid).
- Englishman John Stones (Manchester City).
- Englishman Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
– In midfield:
- Englishman Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid).
- Belgian Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City).
- German Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona).
- Croatian Luka Modric (Real Madrid).
- Spaniard Rodri (Manchester City).
- Portuguese Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
- Uruguayan Federico Valverde (Real Madrid).
– Up front:
- Karim Benzema (Saudi Arabian Football Federation).
- Norwegian Erling Haaland (Manchester City).
- Englishman Harry Kane (Bayern Munich).
- Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain).
- Argentine Lionel Messi (Inter Miami).
- Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (Saudi Al Nassr).
- Brazilian Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid).
It is interesting that the list does not contain prominent names such as Egyptian Mohamed Salah, Liverpool star of England, Brazilian Neymar (Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia), and Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), who missed the selection despite their outstanding contributions to the stadiums during the specified period.