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After an enthralling La Liga title race that was decided on the last day of the season, Atletico Madrid finished two points ahead of holders Real Madrid. Barcelona recovered after an indifferent start to their campaign to make it a three-horse race but fell out of reckoning in the final few games.
Nevertheless, Lionel Messi ended yet another La Liga season as the top goalscorer, while Jan Oblak registered the most clean sheets. There were also a few players who stood out for their respective teams and ensured that there was more to the 2020-21 La Liga than just the nail-biting title race.
On that note, let's take a look at the ten best players in the 2020-21 La Liga.
#10 Luka Modric | Real Madrid
Luka Modric might be turning 36 this year, but he has aged like fine wine and continues to be a creative force in the middle of the park for Real Madrid. The midfield metronome scored five La Liga goals in the 2020-21 campaign. That might not be a great tally, but it marked the Croatian's best goal-scoring return in a La Liga campaign.
The former Ballon d'Or winner also picked up three assists. He particularly excelled in the short passing game, making quick exchanges with his teammates to control play for Real Madrid. Thanks to his consistent exploits for the La Liga giants, Modric was recently offered a contract extension by the club, which will keep him in the Spanish capital till June 2022.
#9 Jules Kounde | Sevilla
One of the La Liga's rising stars, Jules Kounde, continued to impress with his performances at the back for Sevilla. He started 33 La Liga games for the club, helping them secure Champions League qualification. In the process, he played a key role in Sevilla conceding only 33 La Liga goals during the season.
While he is not the toughest of tacklers, Kounde makes up for that with his interceptions, adept reading of the game and aerial prowess. He won three aerial duels per game in the 2020-21 La Liga and also made three clearances per outing.
His 90% pass completion rate was another evidence of why he is so highly rated as he could become emerge as one of the best ball-playing defenders in the La Liga.
#8 Jan Oblak | Atletico Madrid
Jan Oblak has been the epitome of consistency for Atletico Madrid. His no-nonsense style suits well to the 11-time La Liga champions' defensive style of play.
Oblak makes goalkeeping look easy, thanks to his elite level of concentration and razor-sharp reflexes. Players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are showered with praise for their consistency in front of goal. In the same vein, Oblak, too, deserves recognition for maintaining the same level of consistency between the sticks.
He kept 18 clean sheets in the 2020-21 La Liga this term and was one of the key players in Atletico's first league triumph since 2014. In the process, Oblak won the prestigious Ricardo Zamora trophy for the fifth time in six years.
Also Read: 10 best goalkeepers in the world this season (2020-21).
#7 Iago Aspas | Celta Vigo
Celta Vigo captain Iago Aspas has been one of the most consistent players in the La Liga. since rejoining his boyhood club after stints with Liverpool and Sevilla.
Aspas was Celta Vigo's leading assist provider (13) and goalscorer (14) in the 2020-21 La Liga. In the process, he became one of only two players to record double-digit tallies in both categories in the competition this term.
Despite being a proven match-winner, he was left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2020, though.
#6 Toni Kross | Real Madrid
Toni Kroos yet again displayed his passing prowess in the 2020-21 La Liga. In fact, he was one of the best passers in Europe's top-five leagues this campaign, completing 94% of his passes.
He was the only Real Madrid player to record a double-digit assists tally, with his ten assists playing a key role in keeping Los Blancos' title hopes alive. While Casemiro provided defensive solidity in the middle of the park and Modric maintained the tempo, Kroos launched the ball forward with pin-point accuracy to kickstart attacks for Zinedine Zidane's men.
When it came to long-balls, Kroos' accuracy and success rate (8.2 per 90) beat that of some of the goalkeepers as well.
#5 Luis Suarez | Atletico Madrid
Luis Suarez had a point to prove in the 2020-21 season. He was cast aside by Barcelona, despite scoring 15+ goals in the league every season during his six-season stay at the club.
His hunger to score goals and title-winning mentality helped transform Atletico Madrid into title contenders as Suarez proved that he was far from a spent force.
His tally of 21 La Liga goals and three assists accounted for more than a third of Atletico's league goal tally this term, helping the Rojiblancos pip their more illustrious city rivals to the league title.
#4 Gerard Moreno | Villarreal
Gerard Moreno was one of the best Spanish players across Europe's top leagues in the 2020-21 season. He scored 23 La Liga goals and picked up seven assists as Villarreal finished seventh in the league standings.
Moreno was very consistent throughout the season, 14 of his 23 strikes being the opening goals of games. With his trademark bent-over-ball style, he produced remarkable performances in La Liga and the Europa League, where Villareal have reached the final.
Also Read: 10 best forwards in La Liga this season (2020-21).
#3 Marcos Llorente | Atletico Madrid
Marcos Llorente had a fabulous 2020-21 La Liga campaign for the Rojiblancos. The Real Madrid academy product joined Atletico in 2019 and has since become one of the most dynamic midfielders in Europe.
With Diego Simeone asking him to play a more advanced role, Llorente worked hard on his finishing skills, emerging as a goal-scoring machine for the Rojiblancos. He scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists in the 2020-21 La Liga, becoming only the second player in the Spanish top flight to record double-digit tallies in both categories this season.
#2 Karim Benzema | Real Madrid
Karim Benzema's incredible performances for Real Madrid often went unnoticed over the years, thanks to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale hogging the limelight.
However, after the departure of Ronaldo, Benzema has stepped up, scoring over 20 La Liga goals for the third consecutive season to earn a recall to the France team for the first time in six years.
The Frenchman scored 23 goals and provided nine assists in the 2020-21 La Liga, including a goal and an assist on the final day of the season against Villareal.
#1 Lionel Messi | Barcelona
Statistically or otherwise, Lionel Messi was the best player in the 2020-21 La Liga by some distance. The Argentine, who turns 34 in June, continued to make goal-scoring look effortless, scoring from open play, free-kicks and penalty spots; he also found the back of the net with a couple of headers.
Messi, who won a record-extending eighth Pichichi award, was rated 8.52 by Whoscored for his tally of 30 goals and nine assists in the 2020-21 La Liga season. Despite his exploits, it was a shame he couldn't inspire the Blaugrana to the La Liga title.
Messi had as many as eight shots hitting the woodwork this term. He created more chances (77) than any other player in the Spanish top flight, also completing a league-best 159 dribbles.
Despite Barcelona failing to go all the way in the La Liga and the Champions League, Messi ensured the Blaugrana didn't go trophyless for the second season running, scoring a sublime brace in the 4-0 win over Atheltic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey.
Also Read: 10 highest-paid players in La Liga this season (2020/21).
