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#2 Raphael Varane
The 6 ft 3 Real Madrid and French centre-back is one of the most exciting defenders in the world. He is a towering player who can absolutely sprint to thwart opposition counter attacks. Varane has a rare quality not particularly associated with centre backs - he is pretty fast for his position, and tall as well.
Varane joined Real Madrid from Ligue 1 as an 18-year-old, and has played nearly 250 matches for the reigning European champions. In November 2015, he made an impressive dash in 11 seconds to cover the full length of the field, and made a goal line clearance when Madrid faced PSG.
To recover the ball, he has out-sprinted the very best attackers in LaLiga, including Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Antoine Griezmann. At international level, he is a World Cup winner and was a key part in France's win in 2018. Spanish newspaper Marca once recorded his speed to be approximately 34.04 km/hr.
