GOAL US takes a look at the La Liga clubs, and why they have made such an impact on the FIFPRO Men's World 11 over the years
Count them. In the last 18 years, there have been 55 Barcelona players, and 57 Real Madrid players all-time in the FIFPRO Men's World 11. That's an average of six every year. Each squad over that same period has featured at least two players from either club. They have the record number of appearances by individuals in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – both of whom are again on the shortlist for the 2024 awards, which will be revealed next week.
This is what dominance looks like.
But it's not just the presence of two of the game's greats that accounts for the Spanish giants' influence here. Both clubs have either developed or bought talent, and won a lot of games because of them. Good players, well coached, tends to lead to silverware. And it's there that Barcelona and Real Madrid have excelled, and combined for the most appearances ever.
GOAL looks at how Barcelona and Real Madrid have dominated the FIFPRO Men's World 11 over the years.
AFPThe Messi effect
If you're counting, it's 17 years in a row. That's how many times Messi made the FIFPRO World 11. That's two more than anyone else. It accounts for pretty much every year he was a regular starter for Barca, all of his PSG years, and recognition for his 2022 World Cup win with Argentina.
And this would all make sense. Messi's numbers have always made for staggering reading, but it is worth reiterating them. To date, he has 850 career goals and 378 assists. He is averaging a goal contribution every 72 minutes. Even as his career is winding down at Inter Miami, he still managed 27 goal involvements in 19 regular season games.
At this point, he still walks into pretty much any team in the world. You'd be foolish to not have him around – even at the age of 37. There have, of course, been the all-time years. 100 goals in 12 months in 2012. Two trebles, in 2009 and 2015. But more than anything, this is about longevity and consistency. Want to know how Barcelona have had so many FIFPRO winners? They had the best guy to ever play the game in their side for 15 years.
AdvertisementAFPRonaldo, goal machine
The other Spanish giants, too, once had a decent footballer in their ranks. The GOAT debate raged on for so long when Messi and Ronaldo squared off against each other. Every year, it seemed that one had the edge over the other. Ronaldo was a serial winner in Europe – he has five Champions Leagues to Messi's four. He could do it in the big games, and he achieved international success before the Argentine.
He wasn't home grown, but fine-tuned and developed in Madrid. Gone was the tricky winger who maybe tried to do a bit too much with the ball. Instead, here was the razor-sharp edge of a lethal attack, a central striker who could do everything in the box – and smash one from range, too. A year older, and no less effective, Ronaldo remains elite.
Getty La Masia, the ultimate talent factory
Xavi: six times. Andres Iniesta: nine times. Carles Puyol: three times. Gerard Pique: four times.
Those are four graduates of Barca's famous La Masia academy, all of whom were regulars in FIFPRO World 11 sides.
There are many great talent factors in world football. PSG, Manchester City, Liverpool, Ajax and Real Madrid have all developed fine reputations for producing young players. But La Masia, Barca's academy, is on another level.
Those five are the standouts among the Catalans alone, but Messi also came out of the system. So too did Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara and others. Look at the best players in the world and many have connections to La Masia. That is by no means an accident. Homegrown talent has made Barca tick for years.
GettyGalactico money
Let's not discredit Madrid's academy here. They have, over the years, produced some fine players of their own. But while Barca have looked inwards, Los Blancos have looked beyond the Santiago Bernabeu.
It was, famously, Florentino Perez's pledge to sign the best player in the world every summer in the early 2000s. And so formed the Galacticos, a collection of the world's best and most expensive players, all kicking about in one stadium.
Say what you will about buying success, the quality here simply cannot be understated. Ronaldo is now the clear highlight, but there was also Zinedine Zidane, Fabio Cannavaro, Angel Di Maria and Kaka. All of them made at least one FIFPRO World 11 appearance.