Liverpool, Man City lead FIFA TOTY nominations as Griezmann and Pogba miss out

Liverpool lead the way with 10 nominations for the EA Sports FIFA Team of the Year.

Jurgen Klopp’s team won the Champions League last season and have stormed clear at the top of the Premier League this time around.

FIFA players will take part in a fan vote to select their best XI from 2019 and there are almost a full team of Liverpool stars to choose from among the 55-man shortlist.

Goalkeeper Alisson is joined by full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, along with Ballon d’Or runner-up Virgil van Dijk. Klopp’s first-choice midfield trio of Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum and captain Jordan Henderson are joined by formidable from three Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

It is a tale of dominance for the Premier League’s top two in 2018-19 as England’s domestic treble-winners Manchester City are represented by seven players – Ederson, Aymeric Laporte, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero.

Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are all present, but there is no place for the latter’s Barcelona team-mate Antoine Griezmann or Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

Marc Andre ter Stegen, Jordi Alba and Frenkie de Jong are the other Barca players on the list, tying them at four apiece with bitter rivals Real Madrid. Sergio Ramos, 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, Eden Hazard and the resurgent Karim Benzema are up for selection.

Neymar is joined by four of his Paris Saint-Germain team-mates, while Borussia Dortmund surprisingly outstrip Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich. BVB trio Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus and Mats Hummels are in the mix along with Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich.

Ajax and Tottenham’s stunning Champions League runs are rewarded by four nominations each. Harry Kane leads the way for Spurs, with Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min and Jan Vertonghen also awaiting votes.

Andre Onana, Nicolas Tagliafico, Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic make up the Ajax contingent, while the now departed De Jong and De Ligt were, of course, a key factor in their domestic double and progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s top competition.

De Ligt and Ronaldo are the Juventus nominees alongside Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro and Leonardo Bonucci.

FIFA players can cast their votes online via ea.com/toty until December 20.

55 nominees. 12 months of football. One Ultimate XI. Voting is OPEN for the #FIFA20 Team of the Year 
Submit your vote  https://t.co/nAwjKIg9K9
Vote ends Dec 20. Winners revealed in Jan. #TOTY #FUT pic.twitter.com/wI2Sh1oD1V

— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) December 12, 2019

EA Sports’ 55-man shortlist for the FIFA Team of the Year in full:

Attackers

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Neymar (PSG), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Midfielders

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Fabinho (Liverpool), Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), David Silva (Manchester City), Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Marco Verratti (PSG), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax)

Defenders

Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Marquinhos (PSG), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Thiago Silva (PSG), Milan Skriniar (Inter), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham).

Goalkeepers

Alisson (Liverpool), Ederson (Manchester City), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Andre Onana (Ajax). Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)