Manchester City celebrate scoring against Manchester United
Manchester City celebrate scoring against Manchester United
Three Manchester City players have been included in the FIFA The Best XI 2024. Erling Haaland, Rodri and Ruben Dias are the City stars that have been recognised for their performances across the last 12 months.
Haaland maintained his blistering form to have another successful year in front of goal for City. The 24-year-old earned his second Premier League Golden Boot in just two seasons at the end of the 2023/24 season, grabbing 27 top-flight goals and 38 across all competitions. Those goals helped City win their fourth straight league title, reach the Champions League quarter-final and the FA Cup final.
Meanwhile, Rodri's inclusion into the Best FIFA Men's World XI follows a memorable year for the Spanish midfielder. He was crowned the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner in October whilst last week and was also named in the FIFPRO World XI. The 28-year-old helped City win the Premier League last season and then guided Spain to Euro 2024 glory in the summer, winning the Player of the Tournament in the process.
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Dias caps off a triple-inclusion into the XI for City after another impressive calendar year for the centre-back. The former Benfica defender enjoyed a fine season for Pep Guardiola's side and was key to their record-breaking fourth successive Premier League crown. Dias also made the top 25 of the Ballon d'Or in October to further illustrate his importance to City and the quality that he has at his disposal.
Also in the FIFA The Best XI 2024 is Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, Arsenal's William Saliba, Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger, Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos, Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr.
Although Haaland, Rodri and Dias have been awarded with places in the FIFA World XI, it won't mean much to them at the moment with City struggling. In fact, City have won just one of their last 11 matches across all competitions, with that coming against Nottingham Forest earlier this month. Guardiola's side have also lost back-to-back games, falling to an agonising 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.
"The results are not good, the game was not exceptional. I know the situation, I understand but the reality is this," Guardiola told BBC Match of the Day after the Manchester derby defeat.
"They have to know that these situations happen. In the box you have to be careful. It's not about Matheus [Nunes, who conceded the penalty], he played really good in not his position at full-back. But it's not about that, we have to play better. The result will help us to take our best but right now we don't have it. The way I learn is to keep going.
"I'm not good enough. I am the boss, the manager, I have to find solutions and so far I haven't. That's the reality. We want to play better, create chances. But at the moment it's not possible."