Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk was named in the 2024 FIFPRO Men’s World11 which was announced yesterday, and it has emerged that his teammates Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker also came close to making the line-up.
The Brazilian goalkeeper was voted the fourth-best goalie in the world behind Ederson, Emi Martinez and Manuel Neuer after an impressive campaign with the Anfield club, while the Egyptian forward placed ninth.
Salah ended last term with 25 goals and 14 assists in 44 games for Liverpool and has already notched 15 goals and 12 assists in 21 appearances this term.
However, his fellow footballers were not convinced he did enough to make the FIFPRO XI top ten forwards ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Cole Palmer, Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal.
🚨 Revealed: Here's how 21,266 professional men’s footballers voted in the 2024 FIFPRO #World11. pic.twitter.com/zp5WsYrlnN
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) December 10, 2024
While Alisson made the FIFPRO XI back in 2019 and 2020, Salah has never made it into the line-up, and the Liverpool star would be wondering what else he needs to do to get in.
The Reds are currently Premier League leaders after 14 games and will need to maintain their current form until the very end if they are to win their second top-flight title since 1990 this term.
They will be relying on Salah and co to get the job done, and manager Arne Slot will also hope the 32-year-old signs a contract extension.
The Liverpool hero is out of contract at the end of the season and talks have been ongoing over a new deal.
However, both club and player have not been able to reach an agreement but it is believed that should not be a problem.
Salah is one of the best players in the world despite what the FIFPRO voting says, and he is keen to keep proving himself at the top level for a few more years.
He deserves to get whatever he is asking for given his huge importance to the club, and ending 2024-25 with major silverware could boost their chances of keeping him.