Fans Slam FIFA After Real Madrid Forward Vinicius Jr Was Omitted From FIFPRO World XI Shortlist

• Fans have criticised FIFA over the exclusion of Vinicius Jr from the 2022 FIFPRO World XI shortlist
• The 22-year-old was one of Real Madrid’s top performers last season, with 21 goals and 18 assists
• Vinicius also helped Real Madrid to the La Liga, Champions League and Spanish Super Cup titles

The shortlist for the FIFPRO Men’s World XI was announced on Monday, with Real Madrid forward, Vinicius Junior one of the biggest names to be omitted on the list.

The 22-year-old forward had an outstanding year, winning the UEFA Champions League, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup with Los Blancos, but his output was apparently not good enough for him to make the list.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski are some of the big stars named on the list ahead of Vinicus Jr.

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Fans have now taken a swipe at FIFA after the shortlisted candidates for the FIFPRO World XI were announced without the inclusion of the Brazilian.

Fans slam Vinicius's FIFPRO exclusion

Some supporters suggested Vinicius had a better year than Al-Nassr forward, Ronaldo and felt the Real Madrid star deserved to be on the list ahead of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Another fan believes Vinicius had a better year than most of the shortlisted candidates and deserved to be on the FIFPRO World XI shortlist.

Araujo lavishes praise on Vinicius

Meanwhile, Barcelona defender, Ronald Araujo heaped praise on Vinicius, labelling the Brazilian forward as being difficult to defend against, Madrid Universal reports.

The centre-back has had several one-on-one battles with the Real Madrid forward and was placed to man-mark the 22-year-old in the Spanish Super Cup final.

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Vinicius has struggled to find his best form this season, having scored just seven goals for Los Blancos in La Liga so far.

Vinicius crowned tournament's best player

Sports Brief also reported on Vinicius Junior being crowned the man of the tournament, following Real Madrid's triumph at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Los Blancos lifted the trophy for a record fifth time with a pulsating 5-3 win over Al Hilal on Saturday in Morocco.

The Brazilian forward bagged a brace in the final against the Saudi Arabia giants, his third goal of the Club World Cup.