The official website of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) revealed the ideal team for the year 2023, which notably excluded Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. This announcement came just a few days after the IFFHS proclaimed Ronaldo the top scorer in the world for 2023 via its official account on X. The Portuguese star scored 54 goals in 2023, 44 of which were for Al Nassr, plus 10 for his national team, leading the global scoring charts, surpassing English striker Harry Kane of Bayern Munich and French forward Kylian Mbappe by two goals, with Norwegian Erling Haaland of Manchester City in fourth place with 50 goals.
Ronaldo's omission from the ideal lineup raised questions among many observers regarding the criteria used to select players for this lineup, which also excluded Egyptian star Mohamed Salah of Liverpool. Instead, the IFFHS lineup featured Erling Haaland, who was named the best player in the world for 2023 by the IFFHS itself, ahead of Argentine star Lionel Messi of Inter Miami and Kylian Mbappe, both of whom were included in the ideal team as well.
Below is the ideal lineup for 2023 according to the IFFHS:
- Goalkeeper: Ederson (Manchester City)
- Defense: Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Kim Min-jae (Napoli/Bayern Munich), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
- Midfield: Rodri (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- Attack: Harry Kane (Tottenham/Bayern Munich), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain).
