Where Was The EPL In World X1?

Who are the Premier League players who could break into a World XI next season?

JOSE Mourinho has hailed his Belgian talisman Eden Hazard, declaring he is on the path to being a "big player" who could put himself in Ballon d'Or reckoning.

That would be a break from the 2014 trend, where the Premier League was nowhere to be seen in the final verdict at the prestigious awards night.

In the voting for the Ballon d'Or, won by Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery, only Robin van Persie (39 votes), Eden Hazard (6), Yaya Toure (22), Mesut Ozil (15) and Luis Suarez (10) were in the mix from the EPL.

Gareth Bale, a world record signing for Real Madrid based on his exploits for Tottenham and Wales, didn't even crack the world XI.

In a year where Germany and Spain dominated the UEFA Champions League latter stages, it's no surprise that the Bundesliga and La Liga dominated the FIFPro World XI, with the money bags of Paris Saint Germain earning a couple of caps as well.

According to the roughly 52,000 FIFPro-affiliated player who vote for the team of the year at the Ballon d'Or awards, not one Premier League player was worth a place in the ultimate starting XI.

  FIFPro XI

  Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

  Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Phillip Lahm (Bayern)

  Franck Ribéry (Bayern), Andreas Iniesta and Xavi (FC Barcelona)

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Leo Messi (FC Barcelona)