It’s at this time in the season that we look back at the previous 10 months of football and give out virtual awards to players and teams.That’s what Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher did on Monday Night Football as they had to pick their goal of the season, manager of the season, player of the season, young player of the season, signing of the season and one to watch for next season.
Not only that, they each picked their Premier League Team of the Season.
It’s something that all football fans like to do - attempt to pick the best XI from the campaign they’ve just witnessed.
But rarely do people agree.
Each 'Team of the Season' differs based on opinion and, possibly, club allegiances.
However, one Team of the Season that we can’t really argue with is the one from CIES Football Observatory.
According to their website, “The CIES Football Observatory has a global reputation for devising statistical indicators which are perfectly comparable from both a spatial and temporal perspective. This expertise allows us to rank players and teams on an objective and transparent basis.”
Right, ok.
Anyway, they’ve created a Team of the Season based on their ranking from the top-five leagues - the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A.
Europe's Team of the Year
And here it is:
Goalkeeper | Manuel Neuer | Bayern Munich
Right back | Bruno Peres | Roma
Left back | Alex Sandro | Juventus
Centre back | Javi Martinez | Bayern Munich
Centre back | Mats Hummel | Bayern Munich
Centre midfield | Thiago Alcantara | Bayern Munich
Centre midfield | Paul Pogba | Manchester United
Centre midfield | Naby Keita | RB Leipzig
Striker | Dries Mertens | Napoli
Striker | Lionel Messi | Barcelona
Striker | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid
We’re sure many of you will disagree with the team but who can argue with stats?
The top 10 in each position
CIES also compiled a top-10 list of goalkeepers, centre backs, full-backs, central defensive midfielders, central attacking midfielders, wingers and central forwards.
Here they are: