Lionel Messi taking his place at the top of a list is hardly surprising. This season as well, the Argentine has been integral to Barcelona‘s league and cup double.
As such, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner perhaps deserves to be regarded as the best player among the top five leagues in Europe this season according to a list compiled by the CIES Football Observatory.
The ranking takes into account players who have played more than 1,800 minutes this season and there are a few surprises.
Top 10.
For one, Liverpool talisman, Premier League Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah only takes sixth spot with three Manchester City players ahead of him in David Silva (second), Sergio Aguero (fourth) and Nicolas Otamendi (fifth).
Paulo Dybala, who has been rather hit and miss this season for Juventus, also ranks above the Egyptian, taking third place.
Fernandinho (sharing sixth place with Salah), Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling makes it six City players in the top 10.
Cristiano Ronaldo is in 16th place after an underwhelming La Liga campaign.