On Tuesday, FIFA unveiled a shortlist of 23-man squad of the year. However, the list has sparked huge controversy, with liverpool winger Salah's defeat and Barca being the club with the most selected players.
Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or the 15th selection
The list was voted on by FIFA and the FIFA Professional Players Association, the first time in the 17-year history of the competition that the shortlist has been narrowed from 55 to 23.
Of the 23 selected, 10 played in the Premier League, Four were selected for Chelsea and two were selected for Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. In addition to Chelsea, Barca and Paris each have four people selected, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United have 2 people each selected, and Juve, Dortmund and Bayern have 1 each been selected.
Of the 23 players, 12 have previously been named to the Team of the Year, and Alisson, Arnold and De Bruyne have all been named to the 2020 Team of the Year. In addition, Messi and C Ronaldo have been selected for the best team 14 times before, and the goal is to be selected for the 15th time.
European Cup and Champions League double winners Jorginho and Manchester City back Díaz, Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy are shortlisted for the first time. However, Thiago, Alfonso Davis, Van Dijk, Kimmich and Ramos were selected for the 2020 All-Roc team and were not even shortlisted for the 23-man squad.
It is worth mentioning Ramos, after being selected for 10 consecutive years, Ramos was not shortlisted for the first time. Plagued by injuries, Ramos has been unable to get a steady chance to play in 2021, making only one appearance after moving to Paris.
Two major controversies: Salah regrettably lost the election
However, the list has also sparked a lot of controversy. The first is Salah's defeat, the Liverpool winger has played well in 2021, scoring 13 goals in the Premier League this season, delivering 8 assists, leading the top scorer list and assist list. In the Champions League, Salah scored seven goals in 6 games.
Such an outstanding performance led Salah to be voted the Best African Player of the Year 2021 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. Salah also won the 2021 Golden Foot Award. In the Ballon d'Or, Salah ranked 7th.
In addition to Salah, Chiellini (13th), Sterling (15th), Suarez (17th) and Kyle (18th), who ranked high in the Ballon d'Or, also lost the 23-man list.
What is even more surprising is that Barca have four people selected, along with Paris and Chelsea, and are included in the club with the most selected players. The four Barça players selected are Busquets, De Jong, Alba and Alves, however, Barca only won the Copa del Rey last season and are eighth in La Liga this season, 18 points less than the top team Real Madrid.