Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias have both been named in the Fifa Fifpro World XI for last year.
The two Manchester City stars were chosen by their fellow professionals from across the planet after a 2021 that saw the Blues win the Premier League and League Cup, as well as reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history.
The team is voted by members of the international players’ union Fifpro but awarded by Fifa, and is their official world’s best XI.
Dias reacted to the award by saying reaching the Champions League final remains a highlight of last year for him despite Chelsea’s 1-0 win in Porto.
And when asked what the secret of his success has been since joining City, he said: “I would combine two things: consistency and forgetting.
“Consistency, first of all, because that’s just the way I see a top player keeping their performances going. You need to keep grinding and doing it every day non-stop.
“Many times, it’s not about doing too much or too little, it’s just about never stopping.
“And secondly, it’s important that you do, that you forget and that you want more. To play at this level every three days you just need to do, forget, again, do, forget, again. It’s about thinking about the next one and the next one.”
Dias also hailed De Bruyne's inclusion alongside him, saying: “I think I have the same opinion as everyone else!
“Kevin is a player that can surprise you every second of the game. He sees things not many of us see and obviously he’s a very powerful player.
“He’s got amazing skills, whether it’s shooting, passing, dribbling. Essentially his vision and understanding of the game.
“He’s a player that knows what the game needs and because of that I just think he deserves to be there.”
De Bruyne said the award was recognition of the team’s achievements but on his own performances, he said: “I just try to be myself.
“What works for me doesn’t work for someone else maybe. I’m a creative football player who tries to create scoring chances, openings to get my team opportunities to score so that’s what I’m best at in football. That’s my strong point.”
And on Dias, he said: “He’s been great. He came in last year and to be a new player and perform the way he did …. Also, being available all the time was massive for us. He picked up the team from the back and he deserves it.”
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