European Team of the Season so far

Cameron Smith

• 26 Dec 2021 11:25 GMT
• 8 min read

All the best players in the world are currently plying their trade in Europe, with many of them in the top five leagues.

The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the German Bundesliga have elite sides attempting to outdo each other bost domestically and in the Champions League.

At the moment, Manchester City lead the league in England, Real Madrid lead in Spain, Inter lead in Italy, Paris Saint-Germain lead in France, while Bayern Munich are top of the table in Germany.

Here is FootballTransfers' XI of the best players in Europe in 2021/22.

FOOTBALLTRANSFERS' MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS IN THE WORLD

GK: Thibaut Courtois - Real Madrid

The bedrock of Real Madrid’s side, Thibaut Courtois has stepped up while the other big name ‘keepers in Spain have dropped off massively. Both Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jan Oblak have taken a huge step backwards in 2021/22, with the underperforming, but Courtois has done the opposite.

The Belgian is now back to his best after a rocky start to life at Santiago Bernabeu, and his consistency is helping to fire Los Blancos to take back La Liga's crown from their city rivals.

Courtois never massively stands out, but as a reliable pair of hands you won’t find many, if any, better than him in world football.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool

Who else? Well, Reece James was a close second, but Trent Alexander Arnold’s impact recently trumps the Chelsea man’s form around November.

As usual, Alexander-Arnold is providing the creativity of a No.10, but from right-back.

With eight league assists he is second only to team-mate Mohamed Salah in the Premier League assist charts, and looks on course to top that ranking yet again. Not only that, but according to Understat, Alexander-Arnold’s xA of 7.71 is far and away the highest in the division.

He’s added two goals as well, to top off an incredible start to the season.

CB: Eder Militao - Real Madrid

Upon arriving for big money from Porto, Eder Militao seriously struggled to adapt to life at Real Madrid at first, with the famed partnership of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos proving too formidable to break apart. But, at the back-end of last season, during Ramos’ time on the sidelines, Militao stepped up massively, and it gave Real Madrid the confidence to hand him a starting berth next to new signing David Alaba this season.

How has he repaid that faith? By being the best centre-back in the entire Spanish top flight this season. Jules Kounde runs him close, but Militao has helped Los Blancos run away with La Liga, losing just once this season. They may have conceded more than Kounde’s Sevilla, but Militao aggressive defending has been perfectly executed game after game, while his positional sense has stepped up dramatically.

Always a physically gifted defender, he now has the intelligence to match, and will continue to grow alongside his experienced partner Alaba.

CB: Milan Skriniar - Inter

Many expected Inter to take a huge step backwards following the departures of Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku, and Achraf Hakimi, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. At the halfway stage of the Serie A season, the Nerazzurri are flying high at the top of the table, and appear to be cruising to back-to-back titles.

With just 15 goals conceded in 19 games, only bettered by Napoli’s 14 in Italy, Inter’s defensive solidity has remained despite Conte’s exit, and Milan Skriniar has been at the heart of it.

The Slovakian international has been his usual commanding self, towering over opponents in the defensive phase, while also remaining cool in possession. His 92.6% pass accuracy in Serie A this campaign ranks third in the entirety of the division, allowing Inter to build through the phases with ease. An underrated defender, Skriniar deserves to be appreciated for his impact on Inter’s charge for the title.

LB: Joao Cancelo - Manchester City

The best full-back in the league this season, Joao Cancelo has grown into his role under Guardiola immensely over the past few months. After an average first year, he found his feet last season, and this campaign he has exploded.

One of the most active full-back defensively - he ranks in the top 10% for interceptions of full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues - Cancelo is also an animal going forward. His recent goal against Newcastle demonstrated everything he’s about. An effortless run forward saw him beat three Magpie defenders before netting a wonder strike from outside the box.

He’s Man City’s creative hub from deep, and while his four league assists pale in comparison to Alexander-Arnold’s total, it’s worth noting he’s scored two and assisted three in just five Champions League appearances this season.

CDM: Marcelo Brozovic - Inter

While Skriniar holds it down at the back for Inter, sweeping up in front of him, as ever, is Marcelo Brozovic.

Performing the defensive midfield role with ease, Brozovic has been better than midfield partner Nicolo Barella this campaign, and has arguably been Serie A’s top performer.

Controlling Inter’s tempo, the Croatian international’s work often goes under the radar, but this year his talent has been clear for all to see.

Playing a similar role to Rodri for Manchester City, Brozovic rarely ever loses the ball, while his ability to progress the ball is simply priceless to Inter.

If they win the league, it’ll be Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko’s goals that fire them there, but it’ll be Brozovic who plays the most pivotal role.

AMR: Mohamed Salah - Liverpool

The Premier League’s top scorer and the Premier League’s top assister - Mohamed Salah has arguably been the best player in the world at the start of this season.

The Liverpool man has already produced so many special moments this season, with his solo wonder goals against Man City and Watford joining a hat-trick at Old Trafford.

Liverpool have been truly magnificent this season, and Salah has been the shining light. He’s in a class above everyone else in the league right now, and could well break his own record for Premier League goals in a single season (32).

AMC: Thomas Muller - Bayern Munich

Two years ago it seemed as though Thomas Muller’s career at the very top level was over. After scoring six and assisting nine in the 2018/19 Bundesliga season, Muller was then out-of-favour under Nico Kovac at Bayern, but the appointment of Hansi Flick changed his fortunes.

Muller returned to being one of the first names on the team sheet, and began racking up the goal contributions. This year it’s been no different. Bayern have once again asserted dominance in the Buli, and Muller has been at the heart of it.

With five goals and 13 Bundesliga assists to his name so far, he’s averaging a goal contribution every 78 minutes this campaign as he tears apart the league once more. Robert Lewandowski gets all the credit, but without Muller’s service, the Pole wouldn’t be as prolific as he is.

AML: Vinicius Junior - Real Madrid

Maligned for his end product, it seemed Real Madrid were ready to admit defeat with Vinicius Junior last season. Karim Benzema claimed he was “playing against us”, while the Brazilian managed to score just three and assist three league goals last term.

But, under Carlo Ancelotti he’s been a man reborn. Electric as ever on the flank, he’s added a killer instinct to his game that’s never been shown before. Sitting on 10 goals and four assists in La Liga already, he’s scored more league goals this season than his previous three at Los Blancos combined. He’s been no different in Europe either, scoring twice while providing a further three as Real Madrid topped Champions League Group D.

Vinicius is finally delivering on his promise, and it seems the sky's the limit for this enigmatic talent.

CF: Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich

Now the holder of the Bundesliga record for goals in a calendar year, Lewandowski notched up 43 league goals for the year against Wolfsburg in December to break Gerd Muller’s long-standing record.

Not only did he write himself into Bundesliga history, but Lewandowski also put himself level with Cristiano Ronaldo’s best ever goal-scoring calendar year of 69 goals in all competitions.

The man who finished second to Lionel Messi in the 2021 Ballon d’Or has already netted 19 Bundesliga goals this campaign, the most league goals in Europe’s top five leagues in 2021/22, and is on course to break his own 41-goal record for Buli goals in a single season.

With nine Champions League goals as well, Lewandowski sits on 33 goals in 28 games for club and country so far this term - an incredible return for an outstanding player.

CF: Karim Benzema - Real Madrid

Alongside Vinicius in one of Europe’s deadliest duos is Karim Benzema, who seems to be getting better with age. Capable of scoring all kinds of goals, the Frenchman is the complete package, and he’s shown just that in 21/22.

Fifteen goals and seven assists sees him top the scoring charts in Spain while also sitting second for assists - it’s been the season of a lifetime so far for the 34-year-old.

With five goals in five Champions League appearances as well, the third highest scorer in the competition’s history is proving just why Real Madrid knew they didn’t need Cristiano Ronaldo anymore when they sold him to Juventus.

Now the main man at the Santiago Bernabeu, Benzema is thriving in the spotlight, and doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon.