#4 The inclusion of Dani Alves in the FIFPro XI
Many might consider the three previously discussed decisions as the worst of the night, but for me, personally, the inclusion of Dani Alves in the FIFPro XI was adding insult to injury.
Dani Alves has deservedly been nominated in the FIFPro XI for many years but this year, he shouldn’t have touched the award with a ten-foot pole.
Alves helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title but he picked up an injury towards the end of the 2017/18 season and as a result, he missed the FIFA World Cup. So in Alves’ case, his inclusion wasn’t even swayed by his performance at the World Cup.
Kyle Walker had a fantastic season for Manchester City and Dani Carvajal for Real Madrid. Either one of the players should have been in the XI, but they weren’t.
In fact, the likes of Kieran Trippier, Joshua Kimmich, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thomas Meunier and Sergi Roberto would have made more sense than Dani Alves this year. It’s high time FIFA stopped making decisions based on reputations rather than performance.