It is the only player award decided only by football players. Only professional players may vote; there are no media, coaches, or anybody else engaged.
FIFA announced that around 19,000 football players voted for the greatest XI in the world for the 2021 award.
For the 15th time in a row, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are at the top of the lineup. The pair made the FIFPro Men’s World XI for the first time in 2007 and have never missed a match since.
Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich and Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund joined the two to form a lethal attacking quadrant.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Leonardo Bonucci, and Jorginho of Italy, as well as Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, Real Madrid’s David Alaba, and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias, all made the cut.
Here is a list most FIFPRO appearances by a player
| Player | Apps | Years |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 15 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Lionel Messi | 15 | 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Sergio Ramos | 11 | 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Andrés Iniesta | 9 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Dani Alves | 8 | 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Xavi | 6 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Marcelo | 6 | 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| John Terry | 5 | 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Iker Casillas | 5 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Luka Modrić | 5 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Gerard Piqué | 4 | 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 |
| Manuel Neuer | 4 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| Ronaldinho | 3 | 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| Kaká | 3 | 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| Gianluigi Buffon | 3 | 2006, 2007, 2017 |
| Steven Gerrard | 3 | 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Carles Puyol | 3 | 2007, 2008, 2010 |
| Thiago Silva | 3 | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Toni Kroos | 3 | 2014, 2016, 2017 |