The Champions League is back in business with only 16 clubs still in with a chance of conquering Europe in the 2021/22 season.
With Liverpool vs Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid on the horizon to name just a few mouth-watering ties, it's fair to say that the return of UEFA's flagship tournament is a welcome one.
Besides, it truly is the club competition in the men's game where the best players in the business slug it out most often whether that's Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Virgil van Dijk or any number of star-studded icons.
2021/22 Champions League
As such, ranking and rating the best players in the Champions League is no easy task because it essentially involves casting one's opinion on the finest male footballers in the world more generally.
But that's never stopped us here at GIVEMESPORT and on the back of naming the Premier League's top five players in each position this season, we've now turned our attention to Europe's premier competition.
However, instead of focusing entirely on the 2021/22 campaign, we're basing our verdict - other opinions are available - on a mixture of current form as well as overall quality to mitigate recency bias.
And in terms of the positions themselves, there are obviously crossovers that happen for certain players, so we're airdropping them into the category that they've occupied the most this season when in doubt.
After all, if we were to list every possible position down to left-sided centre-backs and false nines, then we'd be here forever and that's just no fun.
Soccer Football - Champions League Group Stage Draw - Halic Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey - August 26, 2021 General view of the Champions League trophy before the draw REUTERS/Murad Sezer
Top five Champions League players in each position
So, without further ado, be sure to check out who we consider to be the top five players from across the remaining 16 Champions League clubs in each major position down below:
Goalkeeper
5. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
4. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
3. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)
2. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
No, this isn't recency bias because Mendy has been the world's best goalkeeper for the best part of a year now having been inspirational on the way to Champions League and Africa Cup of Nations glory.
Oblak has enough credit in the bank to still reach the top five despite a torrid 2021/22 season, while you could probably order Donnarumma, Alisson and Courtois however you fancied given their quality.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 04: Edouard Mendy of Chelsea during the Pre Season Friendly match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on August 04, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Right-back
5. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
4. Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
3. Reece James (Chelsea)
2. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Gosh, this is a good look for England, isn't it? It's no secret that the Three Lions are up to their ears in right-backs, but it's only when you frame it within the wider context of the Champions League that it truly becomes apparent.
And with Hakimi making an indifferent start to life at the Parc des Princes, Alexander-Arnold has been able to regain his status as the world's best right-back with an insane 10 Premier League assists this season.
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Centre-back
5. David Alaba (Real Madrid)
4. Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
3. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
2. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Again, the Premier League comes out of this looking pretty rosy and now that Van Dijk has consolidated his form on the back of his serious knee injury, the throne is once again his to occupy.
And while Matthijs de Ligt, Aymeric Laporte, Milan Skriniar and Thiago Silva could all make a case for reaching the top 10, there's just too much quality on display to dislodge one of our five defensive juggernauts.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - December 4, 2021 Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk wears the captains arm band after Jordan Henderson was substituted Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Left-back
5. Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)
4. Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)
3. Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
2. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
Truth be told, this category was ravaged by our Champions League restrictions the most because Theo Hernandez and Jordi Alba would have occupied 4th and 5th place if they hadn't been eliminated.
However, regardless of who might fill the runner-up slots, there's no denying that it's a straight-forward victory for Cancelo with his more regular appearances at left-back duly ousting Robertson and Davies.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Group A - Manchester City v Paris St Germain - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - November 24, 2021 Manchester City's Joao Cancelo in action Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
Central midfield
5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
4. Casemiro (Real Madrid)
3. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
2. Rodri (Manchester City)
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Sleep on Kimmich at your peril because there's nothing that the Bayern colossus can't do whether that's filling in at right-back, screening the defence, feeding the attack or scoring a 30-yard screamer.
After all, it takes something special to beat City's best player this season in the indomitable Rodri, while Kante only falls short because we've not quite seen enough consistency from him in the Premier League recently.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Group E - Bayern Munich v Benfica - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - November 2, 2021 Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich in action REUTERS/Andreas Gebert
Attacking midfield
5. Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter Milan)
4. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
3. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
2. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
With traditional playmakers and number tens becoming increasingly rare in the modern game, drawing the line between central and attacking midfielders can be a little tricky.
Nevertheless, it's hard to look past De Bruyne when it comes to sheer quality, creativity and output from right behind the front-line, even if Muller's outrageous assist statistics give him a run for his money.
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Right wing
5. Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)
4. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
3. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
2. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
It seems mad to rank Messi anywhere other than first place regardless of which position we lump him in, but the Ballon d'Or winner would still place second fiddle in a world where we classified him as a striker.
In fairness to the PSG star, though, there's not a soul on earth that could dislodge Salah from top of the pile right now because his record of 23 goals and nine assists for Liverpool this season is simply frightening.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Watford v Liverpool - Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain - October 16, 2021 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their fourth goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Left wing
5. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
4. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
3. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
2. Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
So, sure, Neymar would be top dog if we were basing this on talent alone, but we can only cut so much slack for a player who - believe it or not - has scored just eight Champions League goals across his entire PSG spell.
As such, the path is clear for Vinicius to snatch the glory, ahead of the similarly-impressive Sane, with 15 goals and eight assists in 2021/22 emphatically marking his coming of age at the Bernabeu.
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Valencia - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 8, 2022 Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Susana Vera
Centre forward
5. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
3. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
2. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
The absence of Harry Kane and Erling Braut Haaland has certainly done Ronaldo and Lukaku a massive favour here, but we can't allow their 2021/22 struggles to completely undercut their undoubted brilliance.
Then again, the centre-forward list was only ever going to be a procession behind Lewandowski because even Benzema's outrageous recent form can't best 140 goals since the beginning of the 2019/20 season. Madness.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Group E - Dynamo Kyiv v Bayern Munich - NSC Olympiyskiy, Kyiv, Ukraine - November 23, 2021 Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
What changes would you make?
Ah, we can hear the sound of torches being lit and picket signs being raised already.
Of course, there is so much to debate across the major positions that we're not claiming for a second to have the definitive ranking of the best players in the Champions League.
And with major clubs like Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan all having dropped out in the group stages, there's certainly room to maneuver in a world where every European club player was available.
So, while we're certainly satisfied with our own selections, we'd love to hear yours too and you can let us know your picks for the Champions League's best players in each position across our various social channels.