Liverpool trio omitted from World XI despite strong 2023 as Man City and superstars dominate

There was no room for either of Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker or Virgil van Dijk in the inaugural 2023 FIFA FIFPRO Men's World XI which was revealed last night.

Voted for by the players, the footballing world chose a line-up that mostly consisted of Manchester City players and other world superstars. Elite names such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham made the cut but City were represented by no less than six players, which included John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland. Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior also made the XI which included three defenders, three midfielders and four attackers.

The full team was: Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois. Defenders: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias. Midfielders: Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Jude Bellingham. Forwards: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior. In terms of the individual awards, Messi took home the best player award, the best goalkeeper went to Ederson of Man City after his contributions in their treble-winning campaign, while Pep Guardiola took home the best coach award.

For Liverpool, there were no inclusions this year despite their star names enjoying a strong 2023. The last time Liverpool won an award was in 2020 when Jurgen Klopp took home the best coach award which he also won in 2019. Plus, 2019 saw Alisson win the best keeper award while Van Dijk finished second behind Messi for the best player and in 2018, Salah won the Puskas award for his solo strike against Everton.

Salah managed 50 goal contributions for Klopp's side in 2023 and he started this current season in fine form as he helped to fire Liverpool into title contention as they sat top at Christmas. On top of that, Alisson was voted Liverpool's club player of the year for his efforts across the 2022/23 season as he was in brilliant form between the sticks - and he's carried that on into this season. Some fans have plenty of issues with Ederson winning any award over Alisson, given that the latter is chosen to the Brazilian number one goalkeeper.

Then there's Van Dijk; the Dutchman began 2023 in shaky form, as Liverpool struggled, but he quickly recovered to help his side nearly snatch fourth place after a mixed season. Since then, he's bounced back to full fitness and top form and has been one of the standout defenders in Europe.