Real Madrid are the best represented club with a record 13 names on the shortlist released by FIFPro.
The winners of last year's La Liga and Champions League titles also held the previous record of having 12 players on the list in successive years in 2014 and 2015.
Nine Spanish players have made the shortlist, making Spain the most well-represented country, with France and Brazil in joint second place with seven nominations each.
England dominated the inaugural shortlist back in 2005 with 10 nominations, but have just one representative out of the 55 players this year in Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who makes the list for the first time in his career.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon have become the only two players to make the shortlist every year since the first World XI in 2005, after making the cut this year.
Around 25,000 professional footballers were involved in the poll which covers performances by players from August to June. Previous editions had covered player performances in a calendar year.
Here is the 55 man shortlist in full:
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Buffon - Italia, Juventus
David de Gea - España, Manchester United
Keylor Navas - Costa Rica, Real Madrid
Manuel Neuer -Alemania, FC Bayern Munich
Jan Oblak - Eslovenia, Atletico Madrid
Defenders
David Alaba - Austria, FC Bayern Munich
Jordi Alba - Spain, FC Barcelona
Dani Alves - Brazil, PSG
Jérôme Boateng - Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Leonardo Bonucci - Italy, AC Milan
Dani Carvajal - Spain, Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini - Italy, Juventus
Diego Godín - Uruguay, Atletico Madrid
Mats Hummels - Germany, FC Bayern Munich
Phillipp Lahm - Germany, FC Bayern Munich
David Luiz - Brazil, Chelsea
Marcelo - Brazil, Real Madrid
Javier Mascherano - Argentina, FC Barcelona
Pepe - Portugal, Besiktaş
Gerard Piqué - Spain, FC Barcelona
Sergio Ramos - Spain, Real Madrid
Thiago Silva - Brazil, PSG
Samuel Umtiti - France, FC Barcelona
Antonio Valencia - Ecuador, Manchester United
Raphaël Varane - France, Real Madrid
Midfielders
Thiago Alcántara - Spain, FC Bayern Munich
Sergio Busquets - Spain, FC Barcelona
Casemiro - Brasil, Real Madrid
Philippe Coutinho - Brazil, Liverpool
Eden Hazard - Belgium, Chelsea
Andrés Iniesta - Spain, FC Barcelona
Isco - Spain, Real Madrid
N'Golo Kanté - France, Chelsea
Toni Kroos - Germany, Real Madrid
Nemanja Matić - Serbia, Manchester United
Luka Modrić - Croatia, Real Madrid
Mesut Özil - Germany, Arsenal
Paul Pogba - France, Manchester United
Marco Verratti - Italy, PSG
Arturo Vidal - Chile, FC Bayern Munich
Forwards
Gareth Bale - Wales, Real Madrid
Karim Benzema - France, Real Madrid
Edinson Cavani - Uruguay, PSG
Paulo Dybala - Argentina, Juventus
Antoine Griezmann - France, Atletico Madrid
Zlatan Ibrahimović - Sweden, Manchester United
Harry Kane - England, Tottenham Hotspur
Robert Lewandowski - Poland, FC Bayern Munich
Romelu Lukaku - Belgium, Manchester United
Kylian Mbappé - France, PSG
Lionel Messi - Argentina, FC Barcelona
Neymar - Brasil, PSG
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal, Real Madrid
Alexis Sánchez - Chile, Arsenal FC
Luis Suárez - Uruguay, FC Barcelona