Predicting the 2023 FIFPRO Men's Team of the Year | OneFootball

It's that time of the year again! At the start of every year, FIFA realease their shortlist for the FIFPRO Team of the Year, with players voting on who they believe the best footballers of the moment are - and there are some absolutely huge stars in the shortlist for 2023's award.

The usual culprits of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo are joined by a whole cluster of Manchester City players, following their impressive year under Pep Guardiola. But that final list of 23 has to be cut down even more to find out who exactly makes the best XI.

Professional footballers from across the world select the team of the year, with the goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and three attackers with the most votes then making it into the team. The final spot is then awarded to the individual who has the most votes, which in turn decides the formation of the team.

So ahead of the final team being announced on Monday 15th January 2024, the team at GIVEMESPORT have put our heads together in an attempt to try and predict who will feature in the final team. With FIFPRO writing on their website that the final shortlist of players is based on who received 'the most votes from their peers for their performances from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023', we're considering who achieved what during that time frame. So that's one day after the end of the 2022 World Cup, and just after the 2023 UEFA Super Cup. Got it? Let's get into the team then.

Goalkeeper - Ederson

Manchester City/Brazil

The Men's World XI has only ever consisted of eight goalkeepers since it's launch in 2005, but we think that list might be expanding to nine very soon. Yes, Thibaut Courtois was very impressive once again for Real Madrid in-between the posts, as was Emiliano Martinez for Argentina and Aston Villa, but can anybody really question Ederson's achievements with Manchester City this term?

An ever-present part of the team that won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and Super Cup, the Brazilian, while only the second-best goalkeeper in the Premier League right now, has been superb under Guardiola. Strictly based on honours, there is nobody more deserving of the goalkeeping spot in this team.

CB: Kyle Walker

Manchester City/England

Yeah, yeah, we know he's not an out-and-out centre-back, but in our defence, Kyle Walker has played on the right of a back three for England. With there likely to only be three defensive spots up for grabs, we're backing him to get a significant chunk of the vote and a place in this team.

Truth be told, it's nothing less than he deserves. Not only the best right-back in the Premier League but also up there with the best in the world, Walker, like Ederson, rarely ever found himself out of the team during City's march to the treble. Locking up Vinicius Jr is no easy feat, but the Englishman did so with ease.

CB: Ruben Dias

Manchester City/Portugal

You can see where this is going, can't you? While he might not have been playing at his best so far in the 2023/24 term, nobody could dispute Ruben Dias' class in the period mentioned in the introduction. City's cool, composed, powerhouse of a centre-back barely let teams get a sniff in domestic or European competitions, a key reason why the Portuguese defender was able to lift four trophies in that timeframe. Included in the 2022/23 Champions League Team of the Season and the PFA Team of the Year too, it's hard to say that he doesn't also deserve his spot here.

CB: John Stones

Manchester City/England

City go four for four in this team so far, but in our defence, it's hard to say they don't deserve it. While Virgil van Dijk, Antonio Rudiger, and Eder Militao are all quality defenders, can you really say that any of them had a better eight month stint than the three defenders we've picked out here? Arguably not, and certainly not in this man's case.

John Stones, dubbed 'the Barnsley Beckenbauer' because of his exceptional performances as a bridge between defence and midfield for City, did not put a foot wrong during City's success in 2022/23. He took to his new role like a duck to water, and there's an argument to be made that the Cityzens do not win the treble without him excelling in his new role.

RM: Lionel Messi

Finally, someone who isn't a Manchester City player. We know that the time frame which players are judged upon falls just outside Argentina's World Cup final success, but it's hard to leave out Lionel Messi from this team despite that. Having scored 16 times in Ligue 1 for Paris Saint-Germain and assisted an additional 16 times, while also coming seventh for goal contributions in 2022/23, he helped the French giants lift another league title in that time frame. Not bad for someone who was having a bad year in the eyes of some.

On top of that, he then made the move to Inter Miami, nearly firing them to the MLS play-offs despite their poor efforts before he joined. Messi is actually one of our three attacking picks here, but we're dropping him back from right-wing to right-midfield based on who we have as our additional player.

CM: Rodri

Manchester City/Spain

Another one... But again, another City player who is definitely deserving of the honour. The Manchester outfit do not look the same without the Spaniard in their engine room, with Rodri acting as a shield for his backline, a creator for his forwards, and someone who can also come up clutch on the biggest of stages. See his goal against Inter Milan in the Champions League, with his overall performance earning him the Man of the Match award that game.

He helped Spain lift the Nations League against Croatia too in June, showing his impact for both club and country. Hailed by his manager as the best holding midfielder in the world, you'd struggle to find many people who disagree with Guardiola.

CM: Jude Bellingham

Even without taking into account his blockbuster start to his first season at Real Madrid, the Kopa Trophy, and the Golden Boy award, Jude Bellingham deserves his spot in this XI. Purely looking at the eight month time frame votes are judged upon, his rise to stardom at Broussia Dortmund was absolutely outrageous, with eight goals and five assists nearly guiding Dortmund back to the summit of the Bundelsiga for the first time since 2012. Had he been fit for their final game against Mainz, maybe the tears he shed after the final whistle would have been tears of joy instead.

Named Bundesliga Player of the Season for his efforts nonetheless, there was no shortage of interest in him when the summer transfer window opened, but there was no turning down Madrid when they came calling. You all know what happened next...

LM: Kylian Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain/France

Seemingly heir apparent to the throne Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have occupied for so many years, it only seems like a matter of time until Kylian Mbappe gets his hands on the Ballon d'Or trophy. While he only came third in 2023, his place in this team feels pretty nailed on as one of the three attackers (he's dropped back from a left-wing position, just like Messi).

Winning a Ligue 1 title alongside Messi, Mbappe was also crowned Player of the Year in May, with him the only four-time winner of the honour in the competition's history. Also the division's top scorer and now also third in the charts for France's all-time top scorer, it's staggering to think he has only just turned 25.

CAM: Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City/Belgium

There are very few midfielders on the planet as dangerous going forward as Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgium international has been consistency personified for City over the years, and he arguably enjoyed one of his finest seasons to date playing behind Erling Haaland. An important goal against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu helped catapult City into a Champions League final, while his 16 league assists was his third-best ever in a season for City.

The only disappointment on his record in the last year was the injury that got him substituted in the Champions League final. But even with that minor blemish, the 32-year-old continues to be absolutely exceptional.

You knew it was coming. Erling Haaland is the seventh and final City player in our predictions (we promise) and he is almost guaranteed a place in this team after his incredible debut season with the English side. Nearly every defence who came up against the Norwegian crumbled before him, with Haaland smashing Alan Shearer and Andy Cole's Premier League record for goals in a single season (36).

Fifty-two goals in all competitions is absolutely insane, even if he is leading the line with a team who can create chances for him at will. The IFFHS player of 2023 was unfortunate to come up against Messi in the Ballon d'Or race, only picking up the second-most votes. But he is arguably more of a guarantee for a spot in the Team of the Year than the Argentine.

While he might not get more votes than the three aforementioned attackers/wingers, we're going for Harry Kane to get the most votes out of all the other players. Cristiano Ronaldo might be up there with him based on his efforts with Al-Nassr, but for us, Kane's the man to partner Haaland in a 3-5-2 formation.

Tottenham were not at their best last season, failing to qualify for the Champions League in 2023/24, yet Kane still managed to find a way to hit 30 goals! His blistering start to life at Bayern Munich isn't even taken into consideration, but if it was, there would be no debate about his place here.