- Wendie Renard thanked fellow pros after being named in FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11
- Lyon and France defender named in the World 11 for record sixth time
- "Lasting over the long-term is not something everyone can achieve," says Renard
Wendie Renard thanked her fellow players after being selected in the 2021 FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11.
The Lyon and France defender was named in a defence alongside Lucy Bronze, Mille Bright and Magdalena Eriksson.
“I feel proud to be in the World 11,” said the France captain. “These are the players who you play with and who you compete with every weekend and every day in training and the following weekend, you face each other in the Champions League, the French Cup, even international matches.
“Thank you for voting for me. I’m grateful and proud.”
Renard has been a consistent presence having been named in every Women’s World 11 since the award’s launch in 2015.
“My advice is to be demanding – demanding individually and then collectively,” she said.
“Lasting over the long-term is not something everyone can achieve. You have to demand a lot from yourself and also challenge yourself because every match has its own truth, every season has its own truth.
“For me, the root of it is always wanting to stay at the top. For as long as I’m playing football, I would always like to remain among the best players in the world and I will make the efforts to achieve it ¬– because I’m a competitor and I will do anything to stay there.”
Renard’s club team-mate Christiane Endler – who joined Lyon in June 2021 – was voted as the Women’s World 11 goalkeeper for the second year running.
As a centre-back, Renard is all too familiar with Endler’s capabilities in goal ¬and praised the Chilean shot-stopper’s calm presence between the sticks.
“She had a good season last year and I think it didn’t go unnoticed,” said Renard.
“She is someone who is very calm in goal and for us defenders, it’s important to have that calmness to win matches, and not concede goals. When she speaks, she does so in a composed way. She is an all-round keeper.”
