FIFPRO's 2025 Best XI: A Mix of La Liga and Ligue 1 Players, No Europa League Finalists, Bellingham Surprisingly Included

FIFPRO Best XI of the Yearis chosen by professional players around the world, representing the only global football award fully determined by players. The 2025 Best XI covers the period from July 15, 2024, to August 13, 2025. The lineup includes 1 goalkeeper, 3 defenders, 3 midfielders, 3 forwards, and the outfield player with the next highest votes.

On November 3, FIFPRO (the International Federation of Professional Footballers) officially revealed the men's Best XI for the year, arranged in a 3-4-3 formation. Several players from last season’s treble-winning Paris team were selected; the front three have a combined market value of €480 million, half of the four midfielders are English, and two of the front three are French.

The FIFPRO Best XI (3-4-3) is as follows:

• Goalkeeper: Donnarumma / Italy, Manchester City (transferred from Paris this summer).
• Three defenders: Achraf Hakimi / Morocco, Paris; Virgil van Dijk / Netherlands, Liverpool; Nuno Mendes / Portugal, Paris.
• Four midfielders: Palmer / England, Chelsea; Bellingham / England, Real Madrid; Pedri / Spain, Barcelona; Vitinha / Portugal, Paris.
• Three forwards: Ansu Fati / Spain, Barcelona; Mbappé / France, Real Madrid; Dembélé / France, Paris.

This lineup sparked fan debates: considering Bellingham’s performance last season, on what grounds was he selected? And how come no players from the Europa League runners-up made the list?