Vardy Shortlisted For FIFA FIFPro World11 2016

- The Leicester City striker is among 55 of the world’s best players to be listed 

- Vardy scored 24 goals as the Foxes won the Premier League title in 2015/16 

- The final 11 will be announced by FIFA in Zurich on 9 January, 2017 

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has been named on the 55-man shortlist for the FIFA FIFPro World11 after helping the Club win the Premier League title during the 2015/16 campaign. 

The Foxes striker scored 24 goals and broke former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 11-match consecutive goal-scoring record as Claudio Ranieri’s side lifted a first top-flight title in their 132-year history. 

Premier League Player of the Season Vardy is joined on the shortlist by an illustrious group of forwards including Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), and Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich). 

The only English representative in the initial 55, Vardy will discover if he makes the final 11 after the votes of 25,000 professional footballers from over 75 different countries have been counted and verified in January.

They each select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards while the final FIFA FIFPro World11 will be announced at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on 9 January 2017. 

Discussing Vardy's place on the shortlist, City manager Ranieri said: "Jamie deserves everything that is coming his way for what he did for the team last season. 

"I hope this nomination can give him a lot of energy because we need the energy of everybody at Leicester City."

The 55-player shortlist: 

Goalkeepers (5): Claudio Bravo (Chile/FC Barcelona/Manchester City), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), David de Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich). 

Defenders (20): David Alaba (Austria/FC Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/FC Barcelona), Serge Aurier (Cote d’Ivoire/Paris Saint-Germain), Hector Bellerin (Spain/Arsenal), Jerome Boateng (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy/Juventus), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona/Juventus), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea), Diego Godin (Uruguay/Atlético Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund/FC Bayern Munich), Philipp Lahm (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Spain/FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphael Varane (France/Real Madrid). 

Midfielders (15): Xabi Alonso (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/FC Barcelona), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andres Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), N’Golo Kante (France/Chelsea) Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid), Mesut Ozil (Germany/Arsenal), Dimitri Payet (France/West Ham United), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus/Manchester United), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia/FC Barcelona), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/FC Bayern Munich). 

Strikers (15): Sergio Aguero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus), Antoine Griezmann (France/Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina/Napoli/Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain/Manchester United), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Muller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Alexis Sanchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona) and Jamie Vardy (England/Leicester City).