2015 draws to a close and VAVEL UK present our first ever Top 50 Players in the World.
Voted for by both editors and writers at VAVEL UK, we have produced a refined list of the best players of this year. Today, we'll reveal the Top 31-40 best players of 2015 with Number One on January 1st, New Year's Day.
Keep following to see who has made it and who hasn't. There were some lengthy discussions over who slipped into this list.
You can see the Top 41-50 here.
And so, now for 40-31.
40 - Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund/Germany)
It’s been a difficult last 18 months or so for Marco Reus, with an injury stopping him from going to the 2014 FIFA World Cup last summer and this misfortune running over into his domestic form. He’s been plagued with niggles and knocks throughout 2015, but has shown his class nonetheless, with the constant disruptions to his game not affecting his level of performance.
Despite these struggles, Reus has managed eight goals in 13 Bundesliga games so far this season, as well as one in the Europa League and a further two assists. His quality is clear whenever he steps foot on the pitch, with him demonstrating a super understanding with his teammates and helping to get the best out of them. Borussia Dortmund’s resurgence under Thomas Tuchel has been largely down to this chemistry on the attack and Reus has played his role in this.
A distinguished flair in his game, the confidence to run at players and try something different and the type of footballer who can muster up moments of magic from nowhere, it might have been tough going for Reus lately, but he is a unique talent and one who still promises plenty at the age of just 26. (Words: Amee Leigh)
39 - Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France)
Karim Benzema had another wonderful year, maintaining his reputation as one of the most feared marksmen throughout Europe.
Scoring against FC Schalke in the last 16 of the Champions League, Benzema helped Real Madrid to reach the semi-final stage, before they were knocked out by Juventus. Despite injury seeing him miss a month towards the end of the season, he kept amongst the goals as Real pushed Barcelona for the title until late on, including a brace during the 9-1 demolition of Granada.
Averaging a goal per game so far this season, Benzema finished 2015 off triumphantly. A brace against Athletic Bilbao to secure a 2-1 win, and a goal against rivals Atletico Madrid to save a draw have been high points, but the Frenchman undoubtedly saved his best for last, running riot in December.
Netting two hat-trick’s to round off the year, Benzema scored three times against both Malmo FF and Rayo Vallecano, with Madrid winning those matches 8-0 and 10-2 respectively. He’ll be hoping to sort out off-field issues and regain a place in the France squad during 2016. (Words: Olli Emmerson)
38 - Phillip Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany)
Philipp Lahm is Mr. Consistency. If you are asked to pick out five poor games in his career, it is impossible. In fact, it is quite a challenge to recall a single sub-par showing from the Bayern Munich captain in his storied career. And what a career it has been. Lahm has won everything there is to win, with the World Cup, Champions League, Club World Cup, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal winners’ medals residing in his trophy cabinet.
The man Pep Guardiola once labelled as the “most intelligent player” he had ever managed continues to set the standard exceptionally high, whether at right-back, in midfield or even attacking midfield – With 2015 seeing him adding another Bundesliga title to his name during a stellar season. Lahm is truly a once-in-a-generation player and leader, and with his performances still at the very highest level at 32 years of age, there is no telling when this pint-sized genius will call it a day at club level, after having already stepped away from the international game. (Words: Marco Conradie)
37 - Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea/Belgium)
It's been a fantastic calendar year for Thibaut Courtois, which see's him come in at number 37, as one of few goalkeepers to actually make the top 50 list. His performances for both club and country have been phenomenal, seeing him push out Chelsea legend, Petr Cech to become the club's permanent number one choice, during a season that was topped off by winning the Premier League. His personal efforts helped the club finish last season with the best defensive record, with 12 clean sheets of his own, as he also helped his club pick up the League Cup, his brilliant season was perhaps undermined only by the fact that David Da Gea had an unbelievable season, which saw him miss out on being in the team of the year.
For Belgium Courtois has been vital in helping his country reach the number one in the FIFA World rankings, and his performances throughout the Euro Qualifiers have allowed Belgium to enter the tournament as one of the favorites. After a spell on the sidelines through injury, Courtois will now look to help Chelsea improve their current league standings, whilst remaining one of the best young goalkeepers in the world. (Words: Matthew Wilkinson)
36 - Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais/France)
The first half of 2015 saw Alexandre Lacazette end his breakthrough season in Ligue 1 with an impressive 27 goals in 33 league games, and he’s added eight this term already, continuing his steady progress to becoming one of Europe’s most feared marksmen. Of those 27, 11 came after the new year, leaving him with 19 goals (as of December 21st) in 2015.
That form saw Lacazette win the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award and beat the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the top scorer award. With Lyon fending off interest from a whole host of clubs to sign him, the striker penned a new four-year contract in August.
Adding five international caps to his name in 2015, the forward opened his France account against Denmark in March, scoring in a 2-1 win. He’ll be hoping to make it a successful 2016 by keeping up his strong club form, and firing Les Blues to Euro 2016 glory. (Words: Olli Emmerson)
35 - David Silva (Manchester City/Spain)
2015 has been a frustrating year for Manchester City's diminutive Spaniard, with 7 goals and 13 assists to his name, creating 80 chances in total in his league appearances despite being injured for much of the latter half of the year. Sadly no trophies for him to lift, but he won a number of man of the match awards including impressive displays in wins over Newcastle, Everton and West Brom to name just a few.
He also found the net in the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in January and scored probably his best goal in the 5-0 win over Newcastle, and finished a flowing team move in a 6-0 hammering of QPR. He's always able to create space if none can be found, but in order to further his game, he should look to track back a little more as well as improve his less magical right foot. (Words: Matt Kindon)
34 - Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany)
Completing his first full year at Real Madrid following his transfer from Bayern Munich, Toni Kroos has done well to justify the large price tag paid for him by Los Blancos. In a season and a half, Kroos has played in all but two of the allotted league matches, playing over 4100 minutes to date.
He is playing in a more defensive role now, which suits his preferred style of play and helps out his side in general. His central midfield partner is Luka Modric more times than not and the latter of the two often weaves his way into spaces in the final third of the pitch, orchestrating the attack. This forces him to sit a little further back to attempt to clear the ball away from any danger whatsoever.
Helping Madrid to the Champions League semi-final stage, Kroos also played a major part as Germany topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group, in hope of making it a clean sweep next summer after claiming the 2014 World Cup. If there’s anything for Kroos to improve on in 2016, it’s his goalscoring, having failed to net for Madrid since last year. (Words: Olli Emmerson and Kyle Sennikoff))
33 - Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City and Valencia/Argentina)
In the year of 2015, Nicolas Otámendi asserted his credentials as one of the world's best centre-backs.
A prized asset in an ever-improving Valencia side, he won the accolade of La Liga's best defender for the 2014/15 campaign and proved his quality in both Spain and Europe altogether in various competitions.
A leader from the back, his commanding presence in the air, as well as the amount of interceptions and tackles he makes in a game, it didn't come as much of a surprise that Manchester United were interested in his services in the summer.
A club of Valencia's prestige were reluctant to let one of their key players leave, but United's local rivals Manchester City emerged as surprise suitors and a big-money move was sealed - the talented Argentine joining an elite list in the Premier League.
Since then, he has already settled into life in England's top flight relatively well, despite his short frame - at least, for a regular centre-back.
He'll be hoping to welcome back the presence of Vincent Kompany in the City first-team sooner rather than later, as the two were beginning to strike up a cohesive centre-back pairing before the Belgian's calf problems arose again. (Words: Mosope Ominiyi)
32 - James Rodriguez (Real Madrid/Colombia)
James Rodríguez had a difficult start into new the season with Real Madrid because the Colombian suffered a torn muscle fibre before the third matchday of La Liga. One week before this injury he had a world class match against promoted team Real Betis, where he scored a direct freekick in the 38th minute to the 2-0 and a bicycle kick in the 49th minute to the 4-0. James also assisted Gareth Bale's 1-0 lead in the second minute of the match. Beside these two goals and one assist, James Rodriguez, the then World Cup 2014 youngster, scored one more goal and assisted another three in six more La Liga matches. These other three assists were in Real Madrid's unbelievable 10-2 win over Rayo Vallecano, where James assisted the fourth, fifth and sixth goals.
James also took part in Copa América in Chile with Colombia this year and failed against Argentina in the quarter-final after a penalty shootout. He hasn't quite replicated his stunning rise in 2014, but the quality remains as does the composure despite his huge price tag. If injury stays away next year, he'll certainly be on this list again. (Words: Pascal Martin)
31 - Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England)
If 2014 was the year Harry Kane burst onto the scene as the exciting, unassuming, yet equally terrifying centre-forward, then 2015 was the year in which he defied the expectations of the majority to become one of Europe's hottest properties. Finishing the 2014/15 season with 21 goals, Kane has silenced his doubters this season and looks set to score more than 20 goals in all competitions by the end of it. Having earned an England debut against Lithuania in March, Kane scored within 80 seconds of coming on as a second-half substitute - this was a testament to his fairytale rise to prominence. He now has three goals in eight England appearances. Having being award player of the month in both January and February, it came as little surprise when Kane was named in the PFA team of the season and as the PFA young player of the year. There has been reported interest for his services from clubs such as Manchester United, but Kane's continued form and loyalty for Spurs seems to confirm that he'll remain at his boyhood club. (Words: James White)
Compiled by Harry Robinson.