Lionel Messi was first selected for the FIFPRO World 11 in 2007. Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí were born that year. On Monday, all three appeared in the same team, chosen by the professional footballers who play the game for a living.
Messi’s return, his first selection since 2023, extends his record to 18 appearances. He was picked every year from 2007 through 2023 — the longest streak in the award’s history — then missed two editions before this return. In the women’s team, Lucy Bronze sets the benchmark at nine. Yamal has a milestone of his own: FIFPRO says the Barcelona forward is the first player to earn two selections before turning 20. Cubarsí, also 19, is a first-time choice.
The awards were announced November 9 after 26,317 professionals from 75 countries voted across the two ballots. The men’s electorate comprised 19,806 players from 73 countries; 6,511 women from 64 countries chose the women’s team. This is a peer vote, giving the results a different perspective from an award decided by journalists or supporters.
The World 11 has run since 2005, and FIFPRO bills it as the only global football award decided exclusively by professional players. The women’s team is younger — it was introduced in 2015. Spain’s men now hold the record for most World 11 appearances by one country, with 53 selections, while England’s women are the most represented nation in their game’s history, with 33 selections since 2015.
How Kane missed the cut
Harry Kane is absent from a forward line containing Messi, Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. FIFPRO’s published figures put Kane on 27.6 percent of the vote, behind Haaland on 28.4 percent, Messi on 29.5 percent, Yamal on 37.4 percent and Mbappé on 46 percent. The gap between Mbappé, the runaway forward choice, and Kane, the fifth man, was more than eighteen points.
The extra attacker comes from the selection rules. Each team takes the leading goalkeeper and the top three players in each outfield position. The remaining outfield player with the most votes gets the eleventh place. That produced four forwards in the men’s side and four defenders in the women’s.
David Raya was the most popular choice on the men’s ballot, receiving 10,278 votes — a 52 percent share, higher than any other player managed on either ballot. Mbappé led the outfield players with 9,105. Aitana Bonmatí topped the women’s voting with 3,083. On the women’s side, the near miss was Ona Batlle, on 16 percent.
There is an important limit to what those numbers describe. The men’s assessment period ran from August 4, 2025, through July 19, 2026, with at least 30 official appearances required. The women’s window ended August 16, with a 20-match minimum. November’s announcement is therefore an assessment of those completed periods, rather than a running verdict on everything happening this autumn.
Bronze leads a heavily English and Spanish team
Bronze’s ninth selection puts her two ahead of Wendie Renard’s seven, according to FIFPRO. England supplies five players: Bronze, Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo. Spain contributes another five: Mapi León, Irene Paredes, Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas and Claudia Pina. Seven of the 22 players across the two teams carry a Barcelona listing — Cubarsí and Yamal for the men and five of Spain’s women — more than any other club.
Zambia’s Barbra Banda is the sole representative of another country. Her third appearance extends the record for an African woman. Paredes returns nine years after her first selection in 2017, while Pina joins Raya and Cubarsí as the three newcomers across this year’s two teams.
England’s federation notes that Hampton earns a second consecutive selection, Greenwood and Russo each reach three, and Toone returns after her 2023 appearance. Bronze’s record is the headline, but the group also includes returning players and a goalkeeper building a much shorter run of recognition.
Messi’s season is still moving
Messi’s World 11 return follows an MLS regular season of 26 goals and 17 assists, enough for his second straight Golden Boot. His year also included leading Argentina to the 2026 World Cup final, a run that fell inside the window his peers were judging. MLS identifies Inter Miami as the Eastern Conference’s second seed and Columbus Crew as its first-round playoff opponent, with the series opening November 21.
Those current club achievements provide context for the announcement, but they should not be folded into a ballot whose eligibility window closed in July. Monday’s award recognizes Messi within that earlier period. The next part of his club season will be decided on the field.
The complete teams
Men: David Raya; Pau Cubarsí, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes; Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Vitinha; Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal.
Women: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Mapi León, Irene Paredes; Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas, Ella Toone; Barbra Banda, Claudia Pina, Alessia Russo.
Sources · 8 sources
- FIFPRO — “2026 FIFPRO World 11 winners revealed” (November 9, 2026): both complete teams with club and country pairings, the 26,317 voters from 75 countries, the player-voted mechanism and the assessment periods
- FIFPRO — the men’s and women’s World 11 pages (November 9, 2026): the electorates of 19,806 men from 73 countries and 6,511 women from 64, Messi’s 18th selection and Bronze’s ninth
- FIFPRO — “Who received the most votes and who narrowly missed out?” (November 9, 2026): the Kane, Haaland, Messi, Yamal and Mbappé shares; the Raya, Mbappé and Bonmatí totals; Ona Batlle’s 16 percent; the three debutants; Spain’s record 53 men’s appearances
- FIFPRO — “Five takeaways from the 2026 FIFPRO World 11” (November 9, 2026): Yamal and Cubarsí born in 2007, Bronze’s nine against Renard’s seven, the England and Spain contingents, Banda’s African record
- MLS (November 9, 2026) — Messi’s 26 goals and 17 assists, his second straight Golden Boot, his selection every year from 2007 to 2023, Inter Miami’s No. 2 seed and the Columbus Crew series opening November 21
- England Football (November 9, 2026) — the Monday November 9 announcement; Hampton’s second consecutive selection, third selections for Greenwood and Russo, Toone’s return after 2023
- Reuters (November 9, 2026) — independent confirmation of Messi’s return and Kane’s omission
- Photo credits: MLSSoccer.com (Messi); England Football (Bronze and Toone, Hampton, Greenwood and Russo); FIFPRO (official World 11 artwork)
