It would have been a strange situation if Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema didn’t make the nominees list for FIFPRO XI  after his heroics in the colours of both club and country. Karim Benzema is one of the most in-form  players on the European football stage this season. The Frenchman has an attacking output of 13 goals and seven assists in 16 La Liga games this season. Karim Benzema also has five goals in five Champions League games. In total, Benzema has 18 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season. His league tally of 13 goals makes him the leading goalscorer in the Spanish La Liga. For country, he was brought back into the French senior national team setupfor the first time in almost a decade and he played his part in the UEFA Nations League triumph in October.

While it would have been almost suicidal not to include Karim Benzema in the 23-man nominees list, another in-form player in Egyptian international Mohamed Salah was missing on the list. Salah is the leading goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 14 goals and he has 21 goals for Liverpool in all competitions.

In the absence of Salah, Karim Benzema and seven attackers made the list. The attackers on the list include Chelsea star RomeluLukaku, Manchester United talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski and highly rated Borussia Dortmund star ErlingHaaland. The PSG attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and KylianMbappe complete the list of the best attackers.

The list had more attackers than any other department, while the goalkeeping department had the fewest with three. Alisson Becker (Liverpool), GianlugiDonnaruma (PSG) and Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)  are the goalkeepers on the list. The defensive department and the midfield department have six players each.