Messi was accompanied by a majority of Real Madrid players, among them the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the Brazilian Casemiro (in the middle of the year he went to Manchester United in England), the Croatian Luka Modric and the French striker Karim Benzema, figures in obtaining the last Champions League.
Meanwhile, from the French national team that lost the World Cup final with Argentina, defender Theo Hernández (Milan, from Italy) and striker Kylian Mbappé (Messi’s teammate at Paris Saint Germain) were chosen.
The “ideal 11” of the newspaper is completed by the English winger Kyle Walker (Manchester City); defenders Jorko Gvardiol (Croatia, Leipzig of Germany), Virgil Van Dijk (Netherlands, Liverpool of England) and Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City).
The 11: Courtois; Walker, Gvardiol, Van Dijk and Hernández; Messi, Modric, Casemiro and De Bruyne and Modric; Benzema and Mbappé.
Messi is also the only Argentine in the team chosen by readers through an online vote, in which goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez garnered a good number of supporters (he shared fifth place with Croatian Dominik Livakovic).
The eleven of the L’Equipe readers went with Courtois; Achraf Hakimi (Morocco, PSG of France), Dayot Upamecano (France, Bayern Munich of Germany), Gvardiol and Theo Hernández; Modric and Jude Bellingham (England, Borussia Dortmund of Germany); Messi and De Bruyne; Mbappé and Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City).
