In every single season of the modern era, players who perform in the Champions League are given an overall rating on WhoScored.

While it would be foolish to think that the numbers provided by the stats-based website are gospel, it's always intriguing to see who sits top of the pile over the course of an entire campaign.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have achieved that feat on multiple occasions, while Neymar and Robert Lewandowski have also taken number one spot.

What about those playing for a Premier League team, though? Well, since 2009/10, there hasn't been a single footballer from the English top-flight that's taken the gold medal for Champions League rating in a single season.

But why let that spoil all the fun, eh?

We've decided to ignore those occupying top spot and have instead scoured the archives to find the highest-rated Premier League player on WhoScored from each Champions League season in the aforementioned timeframe.

Let's take a look at the results...

2009/10

Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal) | 8.28 rating

Bendtner scored five goals in four matches, including a hat-trick against FC Porto in the last-16 and a memorable strike against prime Barcelona at Camp Nou. 'The Lord' was pretty darn good in his pomp.

2010/11

Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) | 7.83 rating

The season Bale made Inter Milan's Maicon look like a Sunday League player on two separate occasions. The Welshman netted a famous hat-trick at San Siro, finishing the European campaign with four goals overall as Spurs reached the quarter-finals.

2011/12

Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) | 7.62 rating

Ivanovic was key to Chelsea's unexpected 2011/12 Champions League triumph, although he actually missed the final victory over Bayern Munich after being booked in the semi-final second leg versus Barcelona.

2012/13

Oscar (Chelsea) | 7.75 rating

Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage in 2012/13, but that didn't stop Oscar from being electric. He scored five goals in six appearances - including a brace at home against Juventus.

2013/14

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) | 7.67 rating

Aguero bagged six goals in six Champions League appearances during the 2013/14 campaign, although his brilliance wasn't enough for the team to progress past the last-16 stage of the competition.

2014/15

Eden Hazard (Chelsea) | 8.40 rating

Only the great Messi finished with a higher rating than Hazard in the 2014/15 season. The Belgian was simply magnificent in his seven outings, scoring three times and recording two assists.

2015/16

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) | 8.16 rating

Back when Arsenal were still Champions League regulars. Sanchez went into full 'beast mode' in 2015/16, the Chilean finishing with eight goal contributions (3G, 5A) from just seven games.

2016/17

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) | 7.74 rating

It's that man again. In Arsenal's final season in the Champions League before their demotion to Europa League football, Sanchez was once again in sparking form, with three goals and three assists coming from his eight appearances.

2017/18

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) | 8.34 rating

Yeah, 2017/18 was a truly world-class campaign from Kane, to say the least. He scored seven goals and recorded two assists in seven games, numbers that either Messi or Ronaldo would be proud of.

2018/19

Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) | 7.87 rating

Sterling experienced heartbreak in 2018/19 when his late goal against Spurs in the semi-final second leg was chalked off by VAR, but it was still a marvellous season from him overall. The Englishman bagged five goals and two assists in 10 games.

2019/20

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) | 8.08 rating

While it was a very disappointing campaign from Spurs overall in 2019/20, Kane was up to his usual tricks, scoring six goals in just five appearances. He loves the Champions League does Harry.

2020/21

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) | 7.69 rating

Chelsea won the Champions League in 2020/21, so it's a shock to see Rashford top of the pile here. The United man was excellent, though. He emulated Kane the season before by netting six goals in five games, including a hat-trick against RB Leipzig.

2021/22

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) | 7.69 rating

A defender who can do it all. A full-back finishing a Champions League campaign with two goals and three assists is simply magnificent - and that's exactly what Cancelo achieved last season.