PHIL THOMPSON opted for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe in his attempt at picking a World XI without two players from the same club or country.
Naturally, some big-name stars were left on the cutting room floor when the Liverpool hero went without Lionel Messi and Pele.
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were among the former players carefully picking their line-ups and Thompson drew upon his experience to enlist stars of his 1970s and 80s pomp.
Pat Jennings, Billy Bremner and Gerrard added a British touch to his XI, which also features 1970 World Cup winner Carlos Alberto.
The right-back spent his career in the Americas and arrived ahead of attacking icon Pele and Neymar, given that he rules out any fellow Brazil or Santos player from the team.
Men typically associated with only one or two clubs are prevalent, from Liverpool’s Gerrard to AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini and former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.
Joining them in defence is Mats Hummels, who has spent his entire career in Germany.
Cristiano Ronaldo, snubbed by both Gerrard and Carragher, is picked by Thompson alongside Diego Maradona, Mbappe and Didier Drogba in the frontline.
An Ivory Coast international who stuck with Chelsea throughout his peak, Drogba scored 303 goals during his career.
Messi has not, meanwhile, because he would rule out any fellow Argentina or Barcelona players but ex-defender Thompson could have traded him in for Maradona when he made the call.
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Likewise, bringing in Ronaldo condemns any other Real Madrid, Juventus, Portugal or Manchester United player.
But given Thommo’s loyalties perhaps the latter was always unlikely to make an appearance.
Featuring in Rangers boss Gerrard’s XI were the likes of Cafu, Roy Keane and Andrew Robertson, although he did agree on Kompany, Drogba and Mbappe being worthy of a place.
He told The Football Show: “It took me more than a couple of hours, I was stewing on this for a couple of nights.
“I felt like I had a team and I was happy with it, I had Zidane in it, I had [Roberto] Carlos, Baresi in it. Then you get a text of Carra saying, ‘No, no, no that’s wrong – they played together’.
“It’s actually more challenging than what you think. But we got there in the end and I’m really pleased with the team I picked.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
