
And that is exactly what has happened in recent months, as more than 20,000 professional footballers from all over the globe have been voting to decide on the FIFA FIFPro World XI 2014 – this year’s ideal starting XI – which was unveiled at Monday’s FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala.
This was the team selected by their peers:
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defenders: Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, David Luiz, Thiago Silva
Midfielders: Angel Di Maria, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arjen Robben
FIFA and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) have been carrying out this selection process for the past six years, inviting footballers from all over the world to freely select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. The chosen select XI is subsequently unveiled at the annual FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala, which this year was held at the Kongresshaus in Zurich.