Football is very much a team game but there’s plenty of individual accolades up for grabs.
The Ballon d’Or crowns the best player in European football in a calendar year, while FIFA dish out awards on based on each season.
Whereas in England, the Premier League dish out the PFA Player of the Year and name a Team of the Season. While there’s also the FWA Footballer of the Year award, voted for by football writers.
Since the inception of the Premier League, we’ve seen some incredible players grace England’s top-flight.
But who has produced the greatest season based on individual performances?
Well, that’s something that Twitter user @FootyThreads_ attempted to answer by coming up with an XI of the best individual performances in a single season.
Let’s take a look:
Goalkeeper | David de Gea (2017/18)
De Gea must wish he could rekindle his 2017/18 form as he kept 18 clean sheets and conceded just 28 goals in his 37 Premier League appearances. He was the best in the world at that point.
Right back | Trent Alexander-Arnold (2019/20)
Alexander-Arnold has had an incredible campaign helping his side win the Premier League title. He’s produced 13 assists and scored four goals as Liverpool became champions.
Left back | Ashley Cole (2009/10)
Cole was the best left-back in the world during this season as Chelsea won the title by a point above Manchester United. Cole only played 27 times in the league during this campaign but scored four goals and made five assists.
Centre back | John Terry (2004/05)
Chelsea conceded just 15 goals as they claimed 95 points in the 2004/05 season. Terry missed two matches during the campaign as he led his side to glory.
Centre back | Vigil van Dijk (2018/19)
Van Dijk narrowly came second to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings and some could argue he deserved to win it for his performances during the 2018/19 Premier League season. He did pick up the PFA Player of the Year as Liverpool lost out to Man City by a point.
Right midfield | Mohamed Salah (2017/18)
Imagine scoring 32 goals in 36 Premier League games during your debut season at Liverpool. Yeah, Salah did just that…
Left midfield | Cristiano Ronaldo (2007/08)
Ronaldo’s penultimate season at Man Utd was nothing short of incredible as his side beat Chelsea to the title. The Portuguese scored 31 goals in 34 Premier League games.
Centre midfield | Frank Lampard (2004/05)
In the same season that Terry earned his place in this side, Lampard scored 13 and registered 16 assists as he played every single match as Chelsea smashed all sorts of records to win the league.
Centre midfield | Kevin de Bruyne (2019/20)
How good was De Bruyne this season? So, so good. Thirteen assists and 20 assists should be enough for him to claim PFA Player of the Year…
Striker | Thierry Henry (2002/03)
Arsenal could only finish second during the 2002/03 season but Henry was pretty incredible with 24 goals and 20 assists in 37 games. Amazing.
Striker | Luis Suarez (2013/14)
Liverpool may have missed out on the title but Suarez managed 31 goals in 33 matches after he missed the start of the season due to his suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic. Considering he didn’t take penalties, that’s pretty extraordinary.
Check out the full XI below:
