Rediff.com invites you, dear reader, to select your best World XI based on FIFA's 55-player short list.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11, and for the first time England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist in the competition's 12-year history.
Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament.
It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
That leaves Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo as the only ever-presents for an award based on votes from professional players from 75 countries.
Also absent from the list is Leicester City's Algerian international Riyad Mahrez, the top Premier League player last season.
The eight newcomers also include France's N'Golo Kanté and Dimitri Payet, Ivorian Serge Aurier, Spaniard Hector Bellerin, Italian Leonardo Bonucci, Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, Argentina's Paulo Dybala and England's Jamie Vardy.
Barcelona lead the way with 12 players, two more than rivals Real Madrid, whose selected players include Welsh winger Gareth Bale.
Other big names overlooked are Manchester City pair Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, Chelsea's John Terry, Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, Porto's Iker Casillas and Real Madrid's James Rodriguez.
The list compiled by the FIFPro players' union is based on votes from 25,000 professional footballers with the World XI to be announced on January 9.
Select your best World XI based on FIFA's 55-player short list...
