European Team of the Season: Meet the Highest-rated players

• With the 2023/24 season over, WhoScored released the list of players with the biggest ratings in Europe’s top five leagues
• While there’s no team that has dominated the squad, two Bayern Munich players were included
• Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy is the only African player in the European Team of the Season

Which players made it to the European Team of the Season? With the 2023/24 season over, WhoScored released the list of players with the biggest ratings in Europe’s top five leagues.

While there’s no team that has dominated the squad, two Bayern Munich players were included. Surprisingly, names like Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Kevin De Bruyne, William Saliba and Cole Palmer missed out. Below we have arranged the players from the goalkeeper to the strikers.

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7.14

Gianluigi Donnarumma. Photo/ 24 Hours.

Gianluigi Donnarumma already made a name for himself in the football world while playing for AC Milan in Serie A. The 25-year-old continued with his impressive performance after signing with PSG, hence being included in the European Team of the Season. Donnarumma made 3.7 saves per 90 minutes during the 2023/24 campaign and conceded just 33 league goals. He also kept ten clean sheets in 25 matches.

CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7.15

Despite starting the season on a high note and clinching the Carabao Cup, things didn’t work out for Liverpool in the end as they missed out on the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Europa League.

One player who did his best during the campaign was van Dijk and as a result been included in the Team of the Season from Europe’s top 5 leagues. The Dutchman was rock solid at the back and managed to win 81.4% of aerial duels in the Premier League.

CB: Alessandro Buongiorno – 7.14

The name Alessandro Buongiorno may not be familiar among many fans but he is definitely one to watch. Buongiorno excelled off the ball and recorded highest number of interceptions (69) and boasts the third-best tackle success rate (87.5%) in Serie A.

RB: Joshua Kimmich – 7.13

Bayern Munich had their worst season in over a decade. Despite missing out on the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, they were knocked out of all competitions.

Joshua Kimmich. Photo/ Premier league.

Surprisingly, two of their players made it to the European Team of the Season. Joshua Kimmich, who is a midfielder, spent the last months of the campaign playing as a right-back and managed an impressive success rate of 91.3%.

LB: Alejandro Grimaldo – 7.58

Despite completing a domestic double and losing just one match this season in the final of the Europa League, Bayer Leverkusen had only one player featured in the European Team of the Season.

Alejandro Grimaldo was one of the players who greatly contributed to the success of Xabi Alonso’s team. The 28-year-old recorded double figures for both goals (10) and assists (13).

CM: Rodri – 7.62

Manchester City won another Premier League title during the 2023/24 campaign. Once again, Rodri was among the players who played a significant role in the success of Pep Guardiola’s team. The Spaniard led the way on the best passers as he made accurate passes (3,359) than any other player in the Premier League.

CM: Jude Bellingham – 7.81

Real Madrid found a gem in Jude Bellingham. The England international is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or this year and it shouldn’t be a surprise to see him in the European Team of the Season.

Bellingham has scored 19 goals and provided six assists in the just concluded 2023/24 La Liga season. He is one of the players Real Madrid will be relying on in the final of the Champions League, which will be played tomorrow (Saturday, June 1).

Jude Bellingham. Photo/ Real Madrid CF.

RM: Bukayo Saka – 7.67

Bukayo Saka was once again a thorn in flesh for opposition defenders during the 2023/24 season. He scored 16 goals and registered nine assists in what was his best season so far. With players like Saka, Arsenal will continue with their push for the Premier League title next season.

LM: Kylian Mbappe – 7.71

In his last season for PSG, Kylian Mbappe led the team to win three domestic titles and reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. He scored 27 goals and registered six assists. The Frenchman is expected to join La Liga giants Real Madrid this summer.

ST: Serhou Guirassy – 7.83

Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy is the only African player in the European Team of the Season. The 28-year-old had a memorable campaign bagging 28 league goals. He had a better conversation rate than any other player in Germany and helped his team finish second in Bundesliga.

Serhou Guirassy. Photo/ Goal.com.

ST: Harry Kane – 7.82

Harry Kane couldn’t help Bayern Munich win any trophy in his debut season but was brilliant individually, managing 36 goals, which is more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues.