The 10 best players in European football have been announced, with several familiar names in the list.
The best player will be announced on 29th August but until then here are the 10 players who several pundits believe have been the best players in Europe throughout the past year.
Robin Van Persie – Manchester United
Van Persie’s first season at Manchester United was a huge success, with many suggesting that the Red Devils actually won the Premier League title the moment Van Persie was signed. He was the Premier League’s top scorer and played a crucial role in many of the clubs most important games of the season, most notably when he scored the winning goal against Manchester City in December. He certainly is one of the most deadly strikers in Europe and will continue to be a threat for United next season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Paris St Germain
Ibrahimovic is another striker that made a huge impact in his first season for a new club. He scored 30 league goals for Paris St Germain, playing a crucial role in the clubs first Ligue 1 title since 1994. Ibrahimovic has scored goals in almost every major league in Europe and is regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers in the continent. He can be difficult to manage but when he is playing at his best he is almost unstoppable.
Gareth Bale – Tottenham Hotspur
Bale had a fantastic season for Tottenham, scoring plenty of goals for the North London club whilst also being the team’s most creative player. Spurs narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League and this has led to speculation that Bale could leave White Hart Lane, with Real Madrid ready to offer Spurs a world record offer. Reports suggest that Bale wants to leave Spurs for the La Liga giants and although Tottenham don’t want to let him go, they maybe have to go into next season without their star player.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – Bayern Munich
Schweinsteiger played a key role in helping Bayern Munich win the treble last season, forming an excellent midfield partnership with Javi Martinez. The German is now regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world and is a firm fan favourite at the Allianz Arena. Some rumours have suggested that new Bayern manager Pep Guardiola is considering starting Schweinsteiger on the bench for next season, something that hasn’t gone done very well with many Bayern fans, who see the German as the heart and soul of the team
Thomas Muller – Bayern Munich
Muller is another Bayern Munich player who had a wonderful season for the German side, scoring several important goals as the club won the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal Cup and the Champions League. Muller is hugely versatile, with the ability to play in any attacking position. This helped Jupp Heynckes greatly last season and Muller will almost certainly play a huge role in Pepe Guardiola’s reign at the club. Muller is undoubtedly one of the best attacking players in Europe at the moment and his stock will continue rise if he keeps playing like he did last season.
Robert Lewandowski – Borussia Dortmund
Lewandowski became one of the most highly rated striker in Europe due to his performances for Borussia Dortmund last season. The tall Polish striker made a huge impact in the German clubs Champions League campaign, scoring 4 goals in Dortmund’s semi-final against Real Madrid. He terrorised the Madrid defence with his power and finishing skills. Since his excellent performances for Dortmund, Lewandowski has made it clear that he wants to move to Bayern Munich and will run down his contract at Dortmund in order to join Bayern on a free transfer next summer.
Arjen Robben – Bayern Munich
The third Bayern Munich player on the list and arguably the clubs most important individual last season. Robben finally showed the world his full potential following several injury hit seasons while he was at Chelsea and Real Madrid. The Dutchman scored the winning goal in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund and fully made up for missing the crucial penalty in last years final against Chelsea. Robben is now arguably Europe’s best winger, possessing pace and skill that will frighten even the best full backs.
Franck Ribery – Bayern Munich
Like Robben, Ribery finally showed that he is one of the best creative players in European football. Ribery is now the complete footballer, possessing great attacking attributes but also knowing that he has to come back and defend. His possesses pace and skill and is also an excellent crosser of the ball. There have been times in his career when Ribery has failed to showed all of his attributes and has also struggled to get back and defend for his full back. Their was none of that season and he stands a great chance of being named UEFA’s player of the year.
Cristano Ronaldo – Real Madrid
Ronaldo is a player who has been showered with awards for many years now and he could be again. The forward continues to score goals at a fantastic rate, some of them amazing strikers while others simple tap ins. Although Real didn’t have the greatest season, Ronaldo could win UEFA’s player of the year award on the strength of his personal performances alone. Real will certainly not want to lose Ronaldo, who only has two years remaining on his contract with the La Liga giants. The Portuguese star would be pretty much implacable for Los Blancos.
Lionel Messi – Barcelona
Despite still being midway through his career, Messi is already regarded as one of the greats of the game and could pick up yet another personal accoldade on 29th August. The Argentine had another fantastic season and his importance to Barcelona was underlined when he picked up an injury during the last months of the season. He had to start many games from the bench and this made Barcelona much weaker. The whole team got a huge lift whenever the Argentine stepped onto the pitch and many will expect Messi to have another excellent campaign this season.