Spain leads all nations in FIFPro Men’s World XI appearances; Messi returns to 18th inclusion
Lionel Messi returned to the FIFPro Men’s World 11 for the first time since 2023, bringing his career total to 18 appearances as the 2026 Men’s and Women’s World 11 were revealed on November 10, 2026 after 26,317 professional football players from 75 nations cast ballots.
FIFPro remains the only international award decided solely by professional players and is presented to those peers judged to have most impressed their colleagues; the organisation noted the men’s XI was decided exclusively by 19,806 professional men’s footballers worldwide.
Spain holds the record for the most Men’s FIFPro World 11 appearances with 53 selections shared across 17 players, a figure boosted this year by the unveiling that included four Spanish players who had just won the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Sergio Ramos leads Spain’s contributors with 11 appearances and Andrés Iniesta follows with nine.
Brazil ranks second in cumulative selections with 36 appearances overall, spread among fifteen different Brazilian players; Dani Alves is the country’s individual leader with eight World 11 inclusions. Portugal has accumulated 23 appearances in the history of the Men’s World 11, with Cristiano Ronaldo responsible for 15 of those selections — more than 70% of Portugal’s total.
Argentina’s players have been chosen 19 times across the award’s history. English players also total 19 appearances since the World 11 began in 2005; John Terry is England’s most-selected player with five inclusions.
Germany accounts for 12 appearances in the Men’s World 11 since the award’s inception, a tally shared among five different German players. Italy’s World 11 picks involve seven different Italian players, with goalkeeping and defensive figures predominating and Gianluigi Buffon nominated three times more than any other Italian.
The Netherlands and Belgium each feature on the list of nations with high appearance counts: Dutch players have made nine total appearances, and three members of Belgium’s so-called Golden Generation have reached nine World 11 inclusions between them. France sits as the fourth-highest appearance-making nation, with Kylian Mbappé among its most frequently selected players and additional French inclusions recorded for Raphaël Varane (2018), Paul Pogba (2015) and Franck Ribéry (2013).
The 2026 FIFPro Men’s World 11 revelation included recent roster additions such as Nuno Mendes and Vitinha for Portugal. For further updates and coverage, Khel Now directs readers to its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, its Android and iOS apps, and its Telegram community.