Soccer

La Liga yet again dominates Fifa Team of the Year

There were no Premier League representatives in the 11 with eight from Spain

Winners of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2015 pose with their trophies during the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015 awards ceremony in Zurich. Pictured (L-R back row) Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta. ( L-R front row) Luka Modric, Paul Pogba, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo: Ruben Sprich/Reuters
Winners of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2015 pose with their trophies during the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015 awards ceremony in Zurich. Pictured (L-R back row) Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta. ( L-R front row) Luka Modric, Paul Pogba, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo: Ruben Sprich/Reuters
Mon Jan 11 2016 - 18:28

La Liga dominated the Fifa Team of the Year with only three of the 11 players not based in Spain.

The Premier League’s sole representative in 2015, Ángel di María, is no longer in the side, and has departed England to play for Paris Saint-Germain in any case. Three players make their debut in the side this year, Luka Modric, Neymar and Paul Pogba.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer retained his place in goal – and is the sole Bundesliga representative. The back four is made up of Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva and Marcelo – with Thiago Silva blocking total domination for La Liga. Similarly in midfield, Andrès Iniesta and Modric are joined by Juventus’s Pogba, while the forward three positions are unsurprisingly filled by Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – the latter two for a record ninth year.

Barcelona and Real Madrid both boast four players a piece in the team of the year – whereas last year the La Liga giants had only had five representatives between them.

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The 26,478 votes received is a new record for the team, with votes collected from 68 countries.

The team in full is: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich); Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Paul Pogba (Juventus); Neymar (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).