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GOAL

May 31, 2024 02:00-04:00

Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and GOAL's 2023-24 Team of the Season

We've looked at the top performers in each position across the continent's 'Big Five' leagues to produce our combined XI

Another campaign is about to conclude. All that's left to play for is the Champions League, with Saturday's final at Wembley bringing together 14-time winners Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, who are bidding to lift the trophy for just the second time.

Madrid and Dortmund have undoubtedly been two of the stories of the season, with the former winning the Spanish title and the latter making light of their domestic struggles to make it all the way to London. However, Bayer Leverkusen also captured the imagination by not only winning a first Bundesliga title but also going desperately close to an undefeated campaign in all competitions. Xabi Alonso's sensational side may have gone on to win a double, but their treble bid was derailed by an awesome Atalanta.

Elsewhere, Inter ran away with the Serie A title and, despite the best efforts of Liverpool and Arsenal, Manchester City won the Premier/Farmer's League yet again, while Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 triumph was probably even more predictable.

So, who have been the players of the European season? Below, GOAL picks its top performers of 2023-24 in each position, laying out its selections in a 3-4-3 formation and basing them on performances in all competitions.

There have been some notable omissions. The likes of Florian Wirtz, Vinicius Jr, Cole Palmer, Teun Koopmeiners, Achraf Hakimi and Nico Schlotterbeck can consider themselves seriously unlucky not to have made the cut. So, as always, let us know your gripes in the comments section!

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GK: Yann Sommer (Inter)
Another Beppe Marotta transfer market masterstroke! Inter sold Andre Onana to Manchester United for €50 million (£42.5m/$54m) and replaced the Cameroonian with a better shot-stopper for roughly a ninth of the fee.
Sommer slotted seamlessly into the Inter backline and kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues, playing a pivotal role in the Nerazzurri's runaway Scudetto success.

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CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
A Rolls Royce of a defender drawing comparisons with Virgil van Dijk, Arsenal ace Saliba just never appears ruffled on the field. He's strong, he's quick and reads the play wonderfully well.
No outfield player has been involved in as many league clean sheets this season (22), while the flawless French centre-back ranks third among his fellow defenders for completed passes (3456), and fifth for possession won (278).
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CB: Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic basically called Hummels a "football god" after the defender's towering display in a vital Champions League group-stage win over AC Milan at San Siro - and it's easy to understand why.
There's been no better player in the tournament this season, with Hummels topping the charts for tackles won, duels won, interceptions and clearances. In short, the 35-year-old is the main reason why a side that struggled in the Bundesliga is facing Real Madrid at Wembley this weekend.

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CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Liverpool's defence was devastated by injuries during the 2023-24 campaign, but captain Van Dijk not only managed to stay fit, he got back to his brilliant best.
The Dutchman was utterly dominant in the air (only Nikola Milenkovic won more headers), almost unbeatable on the ground (only four opponents managed to get round him all season along) while he also scored four goals, including the dramatic late winner in the Carabao Cup final.
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RWB: Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)
The Manchester City academy graduate who joined Bayer Leverkusen from Celtic in January 2021 continues to go from strength to strength, taking his game to a whole new level under Xabi Alonso.
Frimpong was directly involved in a whopping 24 goals, scoring 14 himself, as the Spaniard's side completed a historic domestic double while at the same time reaching the final of the Europa League.
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CDM: Rodri (Manchester City)
Rodri is still not getting the recognition he deserves - he didn't even get a nomination for the Premier League's Player of the Season award - which is just "absurd", as Ederson put it, given we're talking about arguably the most influential footballer in the game today.
Manchester City simply don't lose games (until the FA Cup final!0 when the Spaniard is anchoring the midfield, and he's become even more impactful at the other end of the field, as underlined by his tally of nine goals and 13 assists.
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CAM: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
It's tough to deliver world-class performances right from the off at a new club - and even more so at Real Madrid. Jude Bellingham has made it look ridiculously easy, though.
The newly-crowned La Liga Player of the Season is just about to wrap up one of the greatest debut campaigns by a Galactico we've ever seen, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's records and drawing comparisons with Diego Maradona while racking up 23 goals and 12 assists in all competitions. And he's still got one game left: the Champions League final!
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LWB: Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)
GOAL's signing of the season, former Benfica man Grimaldo has taken German football by storm since joining Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer last summer.
From his wing-back role, the Spaniard has racked up an incredible 17 assists - which is more than the likes of Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes and Martin Odegaard - and also netted 12 times. No defender has been involved in more goals.
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RW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Manchester City have a vast array of expensive attacking talents - and yet academy graduate Foden has emerged as the most influential member of their forward line.
While so many of his team-mates struggled for form and fitness, the England international, who didn't even start last year's Champions League final, stepped up to the mark time and time again for Pep Guardiola's side, scoring 27 goals and creating a further 12 on his way to being deservedly crowned Premier League Player of the Season.
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CF: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
At this stage, surely only Arsenal fans are amused by the fact that Kane has yet to win a major trophy? The man clearly deserves one, as his status as one of the finest forwards of his generation was only further underlined this season by his record-breaking heroics at crisis-hit Bayern Munich, with Kane directly involved in more goals (56) than any other player in the 'Big Five' leagues.
On this form, the England captain has every chance of breaking the 'Kane curse' at Euro 2024...
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LW: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe failed to fire Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory in his final season at the club, but he did all he could, with the French forward set to finish as the tournament's joint-top scorer alongside Kane (eight goals apiece).
Mbappe also matched the Englishman's tally of 44 goals in all competitions during a season that saw him win another domestic double. If he stays fit, the 25-year-old will run riot at Real Madrid.