Originally started in 1988 the European Football Yearbook folded in 2004, before coming back in 2005 with the help of first World Soccer and then UEFA. Since its return the editor, Mike Hammond, and his list of contributors have selected the 100 leading players in Europe from the previous season. There is admittedly a desire to give coverage to all the leagues and have diversity of ages and locations, but it is still an informative list. I'll post up here all the ones there have been to date. 2004-5 (from the 05-06 yearbook) Adriano Igor Akinfeev Alex De Souza Ryan Babel Michael Ballack Valeri Bojinov Gheorghe Bucur Gianluigi Buffon Tim Cahill Jamie Carragher Iker Casillas Petr Cech Nastja Ceh Phillip Cocu Gregory Coupet Cristiano Ronaldo Deco Stewart Downing Igor Duljaj Tomislav Erceg Alexei Eremenko Fabian Ernst Michael Essien Samuel Eto’o Cesc Fabregas Fatih Tekke Diego Forlan Indrit Fortuzi Tomasz Frankowski Alexander Frei William Gallas Morten Gamst Pedersen Zoltan Gera Steven Gerrard Stelios Giannakopulos Alberto Gilardino Thomas Gravesen Eidur Gudjohnsen John Hartson Thierry Henry Steffen Hofman Zlatan Ibrahimovic Joao Moutinho Joaquin Frode Johnsen Tomas Jun Juninho Pernambucano Bonaventure Kalou Saloman Kalou Andrei Karyaka Kostas Katsouranis Kevin Kilbane Ivan Klasnic Vincent Kompany Michalis Konstantinou Sergei Kornilenko Jacek Krzynowek Dirk Kuyt Frank Lampard Liedson Marc Lloyd Williams Cristiano Lucarelli Lucio Manuel Fernandes Marcelinho Christian Myrleb Marek Mintal Nicolae Mitea Vincenzo Montella Goran Pandev Park Ji-Sung Andrea Pirlo Ricardo Oliveira John Arne Riise Juan Roman Riquelme Arjen Robben Ronaldinho Wayne Rooney Markus Rosenberg Hasan Salihamidzic Tamas Sandor Philippe Senderos Andriy Shevchenko Dejan Stankovic Dmitry Sychov Miroslaw Szykowiak Idan Tal John Terry Luca Toni Anatoliy Tymoschuk Mark Van Bommel Kevin Vanderbergh Johann Vogel Andriy Voronin Mirko Vucinic Simon Vukcevic Shaun Wright-Phillips Xavi Hristo Yanev Yuri Zhirkov
2005-6 Daniel Alves Stephen Appiah Andrei Arshavin Shota Arveladze Michael Ballack Sergej Barbarez Yossi Benayoun Darren Bent Dimitar Berbatov Diniyar Bilyatdenov Erjon Bogdani Mbark Boussoufa Kris Boyd Gianluigi Buffon Fabio Cannavaro Petr Cech Joe Cole Gregory Coupet David Villa Steven Davis Deco Daniele De Rossi Matias Delgado Nicolae Dica Predrag Djordjevic Valeri Domovchiyski Emmanuel Eboue Urby Emanuelson Samuel Eto’o Cesc Fabregas Jefferson Farfan Gennaro Gattuso Steven Gerrard Craig Gordon Michael Gravgaard Christian Grindheim Fabio Grosso Paul Hartley Hasan Sas Thierry Henry Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Tobias Hysen Andres Iniesta Jussi Jaaskelainen Juninho Pernabucano Kaka Robbie Keane Alexandr Kerzakhov Miroslav Klose Philipp Lahm Frank Lampard Soren Larsen Jens Lehmann Aaron Lennon Roland Linz Lucio Ludovic Magnin Claude Makelele Shaun Maloney Rafael Marquez Lionel Messi Philippe Mexes Luka Modric Lucas Neill Pauleta Mariano Pernia Andrea Pirlo Karel Pitak Claudio Pizarro Carles Puyol Franck Ribery Ricardo Quaresma Juan Roman Riquelme Paul Robinson Ronaldinho Wayne Rooney Andriy Shevchenko Rudi Skacel Ebi Smolarek Lukasz Sosin Darijo Srna John Terry Lilian Thuram Luca Toni Kolo Toure David Trezeguet Tuncay Tomas Ujfalusi Daniel Van Buyten Edwin Van Der Sar Rafael Van Der Vaart Aleksandar Vasoski Nemanja Vidic Mark Viduka Robert Vittek Davor Vugrinec Gianluca Zambrotta Nikola Zigic Pascal Zuberbuhler Maciej Zurawski
2006-7 Alfonso Alves Daniel Agger Alex Dias Russell Anderson Arda Turan Shota Arveladze David Beckham Nicklas Bendtner Dimitar Berbatov Bobo Artur Boruc Jason Byrne Vladimir Bystrov Jamie Carragher Iker Casillas Petr Cech C Ronaldo Peter Crouch Dani Alves David Villa Moussa Dembele Diego Diego Milito Kevin Doyle Didier Drogba Eduardo Johan Elmander Michael Essien Cesc Fabregas Alexander Frei Torsten Frings Gennaro Gattuso Theofanis Gekas Tsvestan Genkov Steven Gerrard Ryan Giggs Mario Gomez Oleh Gusev David Healy Helton Timo Hildebrand Thomas Hitzlsperger Klaas Jan Huntelaar Zlatan Ibrahimovic Gokhan Inler Pippo Inzaghi Steffen Iverson David James Joao Moutinho Kaka Fredi Kanoute Seydou Keita Danny Koevermans Kevin Kuranyi Henrik Larsson Christoph Leitgeb Nikolaos Liberopoulos Cristiano Lucarelli Florent Malouds Amantino Mancini Marco Materazzi Benni McCarthy Lionel Messi Luka Modric Adrian Mutu Shunsuke Nakamura Nani Samir Nasri Alessandro Nesta Claudio Niculescu Andres Palop Goran Pandev Walter Pandiani Roman Pavyluchenko Mladen Petric Christian Poulsen Fabio Quagliarella Pepe Reina Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Quaresma Rivaldo Ronaldinho Wayne Rooney Hamdi Salihi Bernd Schneider Paul Scholes Clarence Seedorf David Silva Wesley Sneijder Dejan Stankovic Mohammed Tchite Carlos Tevez Luca Toni Francesco Totti Tuncay Ruud Van Nistelrooy Nemanja Vidic Michael Zandberg Alexander Zickler Mohamed Zidan
2007-08 Emmanuel Adebayor Rene Adler Sergio Aguero Aleksandr Anyukov Arda Turan Andrei Arshavin Gareth Barry Karim Benzema Dimitar Berbatov Marco Boriello Joan Capdevila Oscar Cardozo Iker Casillas Antonio Cassano Joe Cole Vedran Corluka Cristiano Ronaldo Carlos Cuellar David Villa Steven Defour Ruben de la Red Alessandro Del Piero Diego Antonio Di Natale Didier Drogba Balazs Dzsudzsak Orlando Engelaar Patrice Evra Cesc Fabregas Rio Ferdinand Fernando Torres Mathieu Flamini Sebastien Frey Steven Gerrard Heurelio Gomes Bafetimbi Gomis Dani Guiza Hamit Altintop John Heitinga Thorstein Helstad Aleksandr Hleb Steffen Hofmann Klaas Jan Huntelaar Alan Hutton Zlatan Ibrahimovic Andres Iniesta Gokhan Inler David James Joao Moutinho Milan Jovanovic Robbie Keane Umit Korkmaz Martin Laursen Joleon Lescott Lisandro Lopez Lucho Gonzalez Luis Fabiano Javier Mascherano Aiden McGeady Lionel Messi Luka Modric Adrian Mutu Nihat Kahveci Blaise Nkufo Ivica Olic Goran Pandev Pato Roman Pavlyuchenko Pepe Mladen Petric Pavel Pogrebnyak Raul Franck Ribery Ricardo Quaresma Roger Guerreiro Roque Santa Cruz Semih Senturk Marcos Senna Sergio Ramos Martin Skrtel Wesley Sneijder Dario Srna Ieroklis Stoltidis Vaclav Sverkos Carlos Tevez Luca Toni Jeremy Toulalan David Trezeguet Anatoliy Tymoschuk Tomas Ujfalusi Edwin Van Der Sar Rafael Van Der Vaart Ivica Vastic Nemanja Vidic Volkan Demirel Xavi Hakan Yakin Javier Zanetti Yuri Zhirkov Konstantin Zyryanov
2008-09 Almen Abdi Olexandr Aliyev Nicolas Anelka Diego Benaglio Marcus Berg Bobo Jose Bosingwa Mbark Boussoufa Kris Boyd Scott Brown Bruno Alves Tim Cahil Dmytro Chyhrynskiy Cristiano Ronaldo Dani Alves Danny David Villa Lassana Diarra Diego Marco Di Vaio Alan Dzagoev Edin Dzeko Mounir El Hamdaoui Eljero Elia Samuel Eto’o Patrice Evra Rio Ferdinand Fernando Torres Darren Fletcher Diego Forlan Luciano Galletti Steven Gerrard Ryan Giggs Andre-Pierre Gignac Mario Gomez Yoann Gourcuff Grafite Marek Hamsik Brede Hangeland Patrick Helmes Thierry Henry Gonzalo Higuain Guillaume Hoarau Hulk Veded Ibisevic Zlatan Ibrahimovic Andres Iniesta Stephen Ireland Jadson Marc Janko Milan Jovanovic Julio Cesar Kaka Dirk Kuyt Frank Lampard Robert Lewandowski Liedson Lisandro Lopez Hugo Lloris Maicon Mata Lionel Messi Nenad Milijas Diego Milito Zvjezdan Misimovic Tomas Necid Blaise Nkufo Milinoje Novakovic Ivica Olica Mesut Oezil Pato Stilian Petrov Gerard Pique Claudio Pizarro Danijel Pranjic Raul Mereiles Franck Ribery Arjen Robben Wayne Rooney Giuseppe Rossi Marcel Schafer Mark Schwarzer Sergei Semak Dario Srna Luis Suarez Neven Subotic John Terry Yaya Toure Piotr Trochowski Vagner Love Mark Van Bommel Edwin Van Der Sar Robin Van Persie Nemanja Vidic Andriy Voronin Alex Witsel Xabi Alonso Xavi Ashley Young Mauro Zarate
2009-10 Igor Akinfeev Darren Bent Valter Birsa Mbark Boussoufa Aleksandr Bukharov Sergio Busquets Esteban Cambiasso Oscar Cardozo Iker Casillas Antonio Cassano Marouane Chamakh Djibril Cisse Cristiano Ronaldo David Villa Michael Dawson Nigel De Jong Eran Derdiyok Angel Di Maria Antonio Di Natale Alejandro Dominguez Douglas Didier Drogba Edin Dzeko Balasz Dzudzsak Eduardo Fabio Coentrao Cesc Fabregas Radamel Falcao Diego Forlan Gervinho Gilberto Silva Shay Given Marek Hamsik Brede Hangeland Joe Hart Eden Hazard Gonzalo Higuain Steffen Hofmann Keisuke Honda Andres Iniesta Branislav Ivanovic Jesus Navas Julio Cesar Sami Khedira Stefan Kiessling Simon Kjaer Miroslav Klose Milos Krasic Sergei Krivets Kevin Kuranyi Dirk Kuyt Philipp Lahm Frank Lampard Robert Lewandowski Lisandro Lopez Hugo Lloris Lucho Gonzalez Lucio Romelu Lukaku Maicon Florent Malouda Lionel Messi Fabrizio Miccoli Artem Milevskiy Diego Milito James Milner Thomas Muller Manuel Neuer Mamadou Niang Ivica Olic Mesut Oezil Giampaolo Pazzini Pedro Rodriguez Mladen Petric Gerard Pique Claudio Pizarro Carles Puyol John Arne Riise Arjen Robben Wayne Rooney Bryan Ruiz Walter Samuel Bastian Schweinsteiger Sergei Semak Sergio Ramos Wesley Sneijder Luis Suarez Carlos Tevez Mathieu Valbuena Antonio Valencia Mark Van Bommel Giovanni Van Bronckhorst Gregory Van Der Wiel Thomas Vermaelen Victor Valdes Mirko Vucinic Xavi Bobby Zamora Javier Zanetti
Maybe it is just me but it seems that the earlier editions have more 'obscure' names, names from lower-tabled teams and/or minor leagues. Also, Lionel Messi seems to have the most appearances. He is included in every list since 2005/2006. Even in the disastrous 2007/2008 season had Barcelona their three main players listed.
I'd agree with that. The first two editions were supported by World Soccer. Since then it has been UEFA. My guess is that they may have steered the editor towards some bigger names potentially. They definitely made some editorial changes because now things such as futsal, women's football and youth tournaments are covered when it used to be men's senior football only. Still a phenomenal publication and if anything the lists are a bit more accurate now in my opinion. Previously there was a lot of tokenism.
I haven't seen the most recent ones because the earlier editions had some grave statistical errors (wrong amount of goals and appearances). What kind of statistics and info does the recent volumes cover?
I don't think that is wrong per se. I see that Mohamed Zidan is included in the 06/07 list. He played for a minor team, although in a big league, and had some impact in that particular campaign.
It covers all the same info as it did previously, so appearances and goals, results etc in every top league, European competition and international tournament. I'm not really referring to the likes of Zidan. More the inclusion of people who performed moderately well in, say, the Austrian or Norwegian league.
The inclusion of Christian Mayrleb and some other players I've never heard about in my life leaves me baffled. The earlier editons looks more of an attempt to get an overall coverage of all European leagues, than to create a serious Top 100 list.
2010-11 Mohammed Abdelaoue Eric Abidal Charlie Adam Alex da Souza Gareth Bale Lucas Barrios Karim Benzema Borja Valero Malden Bozovic Burak Yilmaz Iker Casillas Edinson Cavani Petr Cech Nacer Chadli Papiss Demba Cisse Cristiano Ronaldo Dani Alves Danny David Luiz David Villa Angel Di Maria Antonio Di Natale Balazs Dzsudsak Christian Eriksen Samuel Eto’o Radamel Falcao Alexander Frei Kevin Gameiro Gervinho Ryan Giggs Mario Gomez Mario Goetze Kevin Grosskreutz Marek Hamsik Jose Hart Eden Hazard Javier Hazard Hulk Mats Hummels Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Zlatan Ibrahimovic Andres Iniesta Emilio Izaguirre Theo Janssen Joao Moutinho William Kvist Jorgensen Shinji Kagawa Aleksandr Kerzakhov Sami Khedira Vincent Kompany Dirk Kuyt Fernando Llorente Yann M’Vila Marcelo Juan Mata Lionel Messi Kenny Miller Kevin Mirallas Luka Modric Nani Samir Nasri Nene Manuel Neuer Nuri Sahin Peter Odemwingie Mesut Oezil Pato Pedro Ivan Perisic Radoslav Petrovic Gerard Pique Carles Puyol Yaroslav Rakytskiy Adil Rami Raul Wayne Rooney Giuseppe Rossi Alexis Sanchez Santi Cazorla Andre Schurrle Xherdan Shaquiri Gylfi Sigurdsson Wesley Sneijder Roberto Soldado Moussa Sow Carlos Tevez Thiago Silva Yaya Toure Edwin Van Der Sar Rafael Van Der Vaart Robin Van Persie Jan Vertonghen Victor Valdes Arturo Vidal Nemanja Vidic Welliton Jack Wilshere Xabi Alonso Xavi Andriy Yarmolenko
There was a clear desire in the early lists to give coverage to players from lots of leagues. That was explicitly stated. The previous versions of the books (from 1988 to 2003) included the players of the season in the sections on each league (but it was more than 100 of them probably). This was something of a continuation of that.
"Jose Hart” that’s funny. Not by the inclusion because he was excellent but Jose? And I have no idea how Busquets didn’t make it into the 201o-11 list and a lot of those other players did.
They had them but not in the same way. The book is made up of sections for each nation in Europe and the profiles were put in the relevant sections. There weren't 100 in total necessarily either.
My copy of the new book arrived today. 2011-12 Adrian Sergio Aguero Ailton Holger Badstuber Mario Ballotelli Andrea Barzagli Jakub Blaszczykowski Gianluigi Buffon Burak Yilmaz Yoann Cabaye Iker Casillas Edinson Cavani Petr Cech Giorgio Chiellini Papiss Cisse Ashley Cole Thibault Courtois Cristiano Ronaldo David Silva Luuk De Jong Clint Dempsey Igor Denisov Antonio Di Natale Bas Dost Seydou Doumbia Didier Drogba Cesc Fabregas Radamel Falcao Alexander Frei Theodor Gebre Selassie Olivier Giroud Mario Gomez John Guidetti Joe Hart Eden Hazard Gonzalo Higuain Hulk Mats Hummels Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Zlatan Ibrahimovic Andres Iniesta Branislav Ivanovic Javi Martinez Nikica Jelacic Petr Jiracek Joao Moutinho Joao Pereira Jordi Alba Michal Kadlec Shinji Kagawa Alexandr Kerzhakov Vincent Kompany Toni Kroos Philipp Lahm Ezequiel Lavezzi Joleon Lescott Robert Lewandowski Stefan Lichtsteiner Fernando Llorente Christian Maggio Vyacheslaw Malafeev Mario Mandzukic Claudio Marchisio Juan Mata Jeremy Menez Dries Mertens Lionel Messi Diego Milito Kevin Mirallas Henrikh Mikhitaryan Luka Modric Nene Manuel Neuer Antonio Nocerino Mesut Oezil Kyriakos Papadopoulos Scott Parker Pepe Vaclav Pilar Andrea Pirlo Lukasz Piszczek Ramires Marco Reus Selcuk Inan Sergio Ramos Xherdan Shaqiri Roman Shirokov Matias Suarez Taison Marc-Andre Ter-Stegen Yaya Toure Robin Van Persie Jan Vertonghen Michel Vorm Kyke Walker Xabi Alonso Xavi Andriy Yarmolenko
Bringing this up to date. 2012-3 Igor Akinfeev David Alaba Jozy Altidore Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Carlos Bacca Leighton Baines Gareth Bale Andrea Barzagli Christian Benteke Lucas Biglia Jakub Blaszczykowski Leonardo Bonucci Wilfried Bony Borja Valero Alexandru Bourceanu Gianluigi Buffon Buryak Yilmaz Oscar Cardozo Michael Carrick Edinson Cavani Cleiton Xavier Andreas Cornelius Thibaut Courtois Cristiano Ronaldo Dante David de Gea Siem de Jong Antonio Di Natale Refik Djebbour Julian Draxler Stephan El Shaarawy Christian Eriksen Radamel Falcao Rio Ferdinand Fernandinho Nico Gaitan Mario Gotze Ilkay Gundogan Marek Hamsik Samir Handanovic Eden Hazard Pavel Horvath Philipp Hosiner Mats Hummels Zlatan Ibrahimovic Sergei Ignashevich Sasa Ilic Andres Iniesta Isco Javi Martinez Joao Moutinho Jordi Alba Stevan Jovetic Stefan Kiessling Yevhen Konoplyanka Philipp Lahm Erik Lamela Frank Lampard Robert Lewandowski Mario Mandzukic Eliaquim Mangala Federico Marchetti Jackson Martinez Juan Mata Blaise Matuidi Lionel Messi Michu Henrikh Mkhitaryan Thomas Muller Fernando Muslera Alvaro Negredo Manuel Neuer Mesut Ozil Graziano Pelle Andrea Pirlo Marco Reus Franck Ribery Arjen Robben Raul Rusescu Sammir Santi Cazorla Bastian Schweinsteiger Selcuk Inan Sergio Ramos Roberto Soldado Valentin Stocker Marco Streller Luis Suarez Neven Subotic Thiago Silva Mathieu Valbuena Robin van Persie Raphael Varane Kenneth Vermeer Jan Vertonghen Arturo Vidal Roman Weidenfeller Pontus Wernbloom Willian Pablo Zabaleta
2013-4 Sergio Aguero David Alaba Alexis Sanchez Cesar Azpilicueta Carlos Bacca Gareth Bale Ross Barkley Mehdi Benatia Karim Benzema Marcus Berg Roman Bezjac Daley Blind Jerome Boateng Wilfried Bony Gianluigi Buffon Gary Cahill Jose Callejon Joel Campbell Antonio Candreva Edinson Cavani Giorgio Chiellini Jasper Cillesen Seamus Coleman Kris Commons Thibaut Courtois Cristiano Ronaldo Juan Cuadrado Memphis Depay Angel Di Maria Diego Costa Seydou Doumbia Josip Drmic Edin Dzeko Vincent Enyeama Filipe Luis Alfred Finnbogason Ezequiel Garay Steven Gerrard Gervinho Diego Godin Mario Gotze Antoine Griezmann Eden Hazard Mats Hummels Zlatan Ibrahimovic Sergei Ignashevich Ciro Immobile Andres Iniesta Jonathan Soriano Salomon Kalou Koke Vincent Kompany Toni Kroos Dirk Kuyt Alexandre Lacazette Philipp Lahm Adam Lallana Robert Lewandowski Luisao Mario Mandzukic Kostas Manolas Jackson Martinez Blaise Matuidi Lionel Messi Luka Modric Thomas Muller Samir Nasri Keylor Navas Manuel Neuer Graziano Pelle Pepe Enzo Perez Loic Perrin Andrea Pirlo Miralem Pjanic Paul Pogba Ivan Rakitic Aaron Ramsey Marco Reus Franck Ribery Arjen Robben James Rodriguez Lasse Schone Bastian Schweinsteiger Sergio Ramos Raheem Sterling Valentin Stocker Daniel Sturridge Luis Suarez John Terry Carlos Tevez Thiago Motta Thiago Silva Yaya Toure Marco Verratti Arturo Vidal William Carvalho Alex Witsel Pablo Zabaleta
2014-5 Sergio Aguero Alexis Sanchez Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Charlie Austin Carlos Bacca Gareth Bale Claudio Beauvue Karim Bellarabi Bernardo Silva Leonardo Bonucci Denys Boyko Yacine Brahimi Claudio Bravo Gianluigi Buffon Sergio Busquets Gary Cahill Antonio Candreva Giorgio Chiellini Thibaut Courtois Philippe Coutinho Cristiano Ronaldo Dani Alves Kevin De Bruyne David de Gea Stefan de Vrij Memphis Depay Diego Costa Borek Dockal Alejandro Dominguez Bas Dost Paulo Dybala Roman Eremenko Cesc Fabregas Nabil Fekir Felipe Anderson Ezequiel Garay Andre-Pierre Gignac Kamil Glik Antoine Griezmann Hakan Calhanoglu Joe Hart Eden Hazard Patrick Hermann Gonzalo Higuain Zlatan Ibrahimovic Mauro Icardi Branislav Ivanovic James Rodriguez Jonas Jonatan Soriano Zlatko Junozovic Harry Kane Yevhen Konoplyanka Andrej Kramaric Grzegorz Krychowiak Alexandre Lacazette Robert Lewandowski Claudio Marchisio Jackson Martinez Nemanja Matic Blaise Matuidi Alexander Meier Lionel Messi Arkadiusz Milik Aleksandar Mitrovic Luka Modric Alvaro Morata Thomas Muller Radja Nainggolan Manuel Neuer Neymar Nicolas Otamendi Javier Pastore Dimitri Payet Gerard Pique Paul Pogba Ivan Rakitic Lior Refaelov Arjen Robben Roberto Firmino Ricardo Rodriguez Santi Cazorla Gylfi Sigurdsson David Silva Wesley Sneijder Luis Suarez John Terry Carlos Tevez Thiago Silva Luca Toni Raphael Varane Marco Verratti Arturo Vidal Vitolo Georginio Wijnaldum William Carvalho Willian Granit Xhaka Andriy Yarmolenko
2015-6 Aritz Aduriz Sergio Aguero Toby Alderweireld Alex Texeira Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Gareth Bale Andrea Barzagli Michy Batshuayi Hector Bellerin Hatem Ben Arfa Karim Benzema Leonardo Bonucci Bruno Soriano Gianluigi Buffon Petr Cech Giorgio Chiellini Kingsley Coman Cristiano Ronaldo Steven Savis Kevin De Bruyne David de Gea Luuk de Jong Ousmane Dembele Angel Di Maria Eric Dier Douglas Costa Danny Drinkwater Paulo Dybala Alan Dzagoev Christian Eriksen Filipe Luis Alessandro Florenzi Kostas Fourtounis Gabi Kevin Gameiro Zoltan Gera Diego Godin Mario Gomez Antoine Griezmann Marek Hamsik Gonzalo Higuain Hulk Mats Hummels Elseid Hysaj Zlatan Ibrahimovic Josip Ilicic Andres Iniesta Vincent Janssen Joao Mario Jonas Juanfran Harry Kane N'Golo Kante Davy Klassen Koke Toni Kroos Grzegorz Krychowiak Philipp Lahm Robert Lewandowski Hugo Lloris Riyad Mahrez Blaise Matuidi Lionel Messi Henrikh Mkhitaryan Luke Modric Alvaro Morata Wes Morgan Thomas Muller Radja Nainggolan Nani Manuel Neuer Neymar Nolito Jan Oblak Mesut Ozil Dimitri Payet Pepe Ivan Perisic Gerard Pique Miralem Pjanic Paul Pogba Ivan Rakitic Aaron Ramsey Renato Sanches Rui Patricio Saul Niguez Kasper Schmeichel Sergio Ramos Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson Chris Smalling Darijo Srna Luis Suarez Thiago Silva Virgil van Dijk Jamie Vardy Ashley Williams Willian Granit Xhaka Andriy Yarmolenko
2016-17 Sergio Aguero Alex Sandro Alexis Sanchez Dele Alli Marcos Alonso Andre Silva Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Cesar Azpilicueta Andrea Belotti Karim Benzema Marcus Berg Federico Bernadeschi Bernardo Silva Leonardo Bonucci Gianluigi Buffon Gary Cahill Dani Carvajal Edinson Cavani Giorgio Chiellini Cristiano Ronaldo Dani Alves David Luiz Kevin De Bruyne David de Gea Ousmane Dembele Leander Dedoncker Diego Costa Kasper Dolberg Gianluigi Donnarumma Bas Dost Paulo Dybala Edin Dzeko Ederson Christian Eriksen Radamel Falcao Emil Forsberg Kamil Glik Denis Glushakov Diego Godin Alejandro Gomez Antoine Griezmann Marek Hamsik Eden Hazard Gonzalo Higuain Mats Hummels Iago Aspas Zlatan Ibrahimovic Mauro Icardi Ciro Immobile Isco Nicolai Jorgenson Harry Kane N'Golo Kante Naby Keita Joshua Kimmich Davy Klaassen Toni Kroos Alexandre Lacazette Philipp Lahm Thomas Lemar Robert Lewandowski Victor Lindelof Romelu Lukaku Mario Mandzukic Sadio Mane Marcelo Kylian Mbappe Benjamin Mendy Dries Mertens Lionel Messi Henrikh Mkhitaryan Anthony Modeste Luka Modric Radja Nainggolan Neymar Jan Oblak Miralem Pjanic Paul Pogba Quincy Promes Raphael Guerreiro Arjen Robben Saul Niguez Partrik Schik Kasper Schmeichel Sergio Ramos Djibril Sidibe Gylfi Sigurdsson David Silva Fedor Smolov Lars Stindl Luis Suarez Niklas Sule Talisca Lukasz Teodoczyk Thiago Alcantara Youri Tielemans Corentin Tolisso Marco Verratti Arturo Vidal Timo Werner
So to post these up, these are the selections from the 1988-9 edition for the 1987-8 season. Note, this year they weren't necessarily the best players, just the ones selected to focus on. Austria Herbert Prohaska Heribert Weber Belgium Luc Nilis Patrick Vervoort Marc Degryse Bulgaria Lachezar Tanev Naskh Sirakov Czechoslovakia Ivan Hasek Denmark John Jensen East Germany Andreas Thom England Peter Reid Kevin Ratcliffe John Barnes Peter Beardsley Bryan Robson Brian McClair Alan Smith Nigel Clough Chris Waddle France Philippe Faregon Klaus Allofs Glenn Hoddle Greece Dimitris Saravakos Holland John Bosman Jan Wouters Ronald Koeman Wim Kieft Mario Been Hungary Kalman Kovacs Italy Alessandro Altobelli Enzo Scifo Antonio Cabrini Ian Rush Marco van Basten Ruud Gullit Diego Maradona Careca Giuseppe Giannini Gianluca Vialli Poland Jan Urban Portugal Diamantino Mats Magnusson Fernando Gomes Paulinho Cascavel Romania Rodion Camataru Gheorghe Hagi Scotland Paul McStay Frank McAvennie Ally McCoist Charlie Nicholas David Narey Spain Emilio Butragueno Bernd Schuster Gary Lineker Hugo Sanchez Michel Pedro Uralde Paulo Futre Jose Maria Bakero Sweden Peter Larsson Switzerland Heinz Hermann USSR Igor Belanov Aleksandr Zavarov Rita Dasaev West Germany Lothar Matthaus Ludwig Kogl Pierre Littbarski Manfred Burgsmuller Yugoslavia Dragan Stojkovic