European Team of the Season, featuring Benzema, Lewandowski and De Bruyne

Karan Tejwani

• 30 May 2022 15:09 BST
• 7 min read

Another European season has come to an end, culminating with Real Madrid’s 14th Champions League win in Paris, and some of the usual winners across Europe’s top five leagues.

Manchester City secured a fourth league title in five years in England, Paris Saint-Germain regained Ligue 1, winning their eighth title in 10 years and Bayern Munich won a 10th-successive championship.

In Italy, Milan won the league for the first time in 11 years while Real Madrid won La Liga for the second time in three seasons, with Carlo Ancelotti’s returning season proving to be a massive success.

So, who makes it into the European Team of the Season?

Thibaut Courtois

Ancelotti said after the Champions League final that Courtois produced excellent performances like the one in Europe’s biggest games every week, and he wasn’t wrong.

The Belgian goalkeeper was at his best in Paris, but he was just as instrumental in Real Madrid’s run towards winning the league title.

The season ended with Courtois being named the Man of the Match in the final, and it seems hard to argue that he’ll be named the world’s best goalkeeper come awards season later this year.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold was partly blamed for the goal Real Madrid scored in the Champions League final, but that shouldn’t dampen what an excellent season it has been for the Englishman.

The 23-year-old won two trophies, contributed on both ends of the pitch and ends the season with only Kylian Mbappe and Christopher Nkunku providing more assists than him.

He was also brilliant in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, ensuring the Reds end the season with more silverware and he certainly has more time to add to his impressive CV.

Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool missed Van Dijk in the 2020-21 campaign and it was reflected in the results, but he was back in this campaign and his quality shone.

Arguably the world’s finest centre-half, Van Dijk was crucial in shoring up Liverpool’s back-line and he was influential as they pushed for four trophies right until the end.

They ended up with two, but it was a near faultless campaign for the Dutchman as he showed few signs of struggle in a demanding campaign following a significant injury.

David Alaba

There were doubts over whether Alaba could fill Sergio Ramos’ boots, but he did so effortlessly and was a vital part of Real Madrid’s success.

The Austrian moved to Spain on a free transfer from Bayern Munich last year and slotted in perfectly, even making the famous number four shirt his own over the course of the season.

He formed a solid partnership with Eder Militao, and a league and Champions League win was a deserved success for a player with so much quality.

Theo Hernandez

Not many players defined Milan’s spirit this season as well as Hernandez, and he was one of their finest performers this season as the Scudetto returned to the club for the first time in 11 years.

Hernandez scored five goals and provided six assists in a brilliant campaign at left-back and his contributions towards the end of the season were immense.

He also carried the ball forward the most, proving his worth on both ends of the pitch and showing his value to the side in a historic season.

Luka Modric

Even at 37, Modric showed his best form as the Croatian was instrumental in Real Madrid’s double, backing his claim to be one of the game’s all-time great midfielders.

His performance in the Champions League final was immense, and his contributions over the season showed how important he is to the team.

It’s strangely unsurprising that he will sign a contract extension to stay at the club – his fitness trainer thinks he can play until 40, and judging by his displays, there seems to be little doubt.

Kevin De Bruyne

There’s hardly a player more consistent in the Premier League than De Bruyne, and he was deserving of his honour of being named the league’s best player this season.

The Belgian scored 19 goals and provided 14 assists across all competitions, winning the league title and having a decisive role in Manchester City’s final league game of the season.

De Bruyne struggled with injury issues at the start of the season, but the return has been impressive; his form at the end of the season was great too: eight goals and six assists in the final 10 games of the season to seal the title.

Christopher Nkunku

Nkunku was named the Bundesliga’s best player and rightly so – it’s a big achievement to do so ahead of the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, but he’s managed it.

A record of 20 goals and 15 assists made him one of the league’s finest, and he added to that with some silverware as RB Leipzig won the DFB Pokal.

The player will have a big price tag on him if he is to move and if he continues at this rate, he will certainly be regarded as one of the world’s best.

Robert Lewandowski

Once again, Lewandowski was the league’s top scorer, and at one point, had the chance to break his own single-season scoring record that he set in the previous campaign.

A record of 35 league goals this season carried the club to another league title, and he was even leading the Champions League charts at one point after an excellent group stage.

Lewandowski has, however, admitted his desire to leave Bayern Munich and he could be wearing the red-and-blue of Barcelona next season.

Karim Benzema

It seems to be a universal choice to give Karim Benzema the Ballon d’Or this year, and he would be fully deserving of the honour.

The Frenchman had the season of his career, scoring 44 goals in all, including 15 Champions League goals as Real Madrid won a 14th European title.

His displays in matches against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City were brilliant in one of the most remarkable individual Champions League campaigns in history.

Kylian Mbappe

Much of the talk around Kylian Mbappe this season were surrounding a potential move to Real Madrid, and while that won’t be happening, he still had a wonderful campaign.

Mbappe scored 39 goals in all, and was the top scorer and assist provided in the league, being Europe’s most efficient footballer as he contributed to a goal every 60 minutes.

He’s already one of the world’s best, has the numbers and success to back it up, and now will be gunning to win the Champions League with PSG next season.