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Fifa 21 Team of the Year: Messi and Neymar miss out but Ronaldo is in

FIFA 21 TOTYImage source, EA Sports

Lionel Messi and Neymar have missed out on being named in the Fifa 21 Team of the Year.

The superstar players haven't made it into the first XI of the popular football console game.

It's the first time that Messi has ever missed out, after a difficult year when lots of people thought he would leave Barcelona.

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk are IN - as is Messi's old rival Cristiano Ronaldo (we reckon CR7 will be extra pleased about that).

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Lionel Messi didn't make the grade this year

The Fifa 21 Team of the Year voting process began earlier this year as the game's makers - EA Sports - invited fans all around the world to select their favourite XI from a shortlist of 70 nominated players who had excelled in real-world football over the past 12 months.

Surprisingly, Messi wasn't popular enough with the game's fans - despite hitting 27 goals and providing 19 assists in 48 appearances for Barcelona and his national team, Argentina.

Who is in the FIFA 21 XI?

GK: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

DF: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)

DF: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

DF: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

DF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

MF: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

MF: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

MF: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

FW: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

FW: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Neymar scored 19 goals last season for PSG - and became the first player in European Cup and Champions League history to score 20 goals for two different clubs. But he was also on the losing side in the competition's final.

The team is dominated by players who did well in the Champions League last year - with 4 players coming from the the competition winners Bayern Munich.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Neymar also didn't get called up to the Fifa 21 XI

Premier League Champions Liverpool had the most players from the UK's clubs, with England full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold joining van Dijk in the team, and Kevin de Bruyne from Manchester City also pulling on his virtual boots.

You can take part in our vote to let us know if you think Fifa 21 fans made the right call with Messi - and let us know in the comments below who else you think missed out that you would always pick?

If you can't see this vote, click here.