On the evening of January 3, the World Association of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) announced the candidates for the 2023 representative team.
Notably, in the list of strikers there is the appearance of Cristiano Ronaldo, besides many other stars such as Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Harry Kane (Bayern), Erling Haaland (Man City) and Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad).
List of strikers nominated for the best team of the year.
If he appears in this year’s representative team, Ronaldo will have a chance to equal Messi’s record. Previously, CR7 was honored 15 times in a row by FIFPro as the best team of the year (2007 to 2021).
In 2022, CR7 had a conflict with coach Erik ten Hag, so he could not play regularly. He only ended the year with 17 goals and could not join the best team.
Meanwhile, Messi holds the record of appearing in the FIFPro representative team many times with 16 consecutive times (from 2007 to 2022). Last year, Messi’s achievements were only 28 goals and 12 assists, a number inferior to many of his colleagues. A poor performance could cause the Argentine superstar to miss the 2023 squad.
Previously, FIFA also recognized Ronaldo as the top scorer in 2023 with 54 goals. Meanwhile, UEFA ignored CR7’s achievements. The leading organization in European football considers Kylian Mbappe to be the top scorer with 52 goals in 53 matches, a better performance than Harry Kane with 52 goals in 57 matches. Ranked 3rd is Erling Haaland with 50 goals in 60 matches.
In an interview after the last match of 2023 (against Al Taawon), Ronaldo was happy with his number one scoring achievement in the world. This superstar also announced that he wants to continue holding the number one position in 2024, at the age of 39.
Currently, Ronaldo is on his first year vacation with his family. CR7 will return in early February to face Lionel Messi in the friendly match that the whole world has been waiting for between Al Nassr and Inter Miami in Saudi Arabia.
List of candidates for the best team of 2023
– Goalkeepers: Ederson, Courtois, Martinez.
– Defenders: Dias, Van Dijk, Militao, Rudiger, Stones, Walker.
– Midfielders: Bellingham, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Modric, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Valverde.
– Strikers: Benzema, Haaland, Kane, Mbappe, Messi, Ronaldo, Vinicius.
