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Football players are idolized across the globe. It would be hard to find a football fan who grew up without looking up to or trying to imitate some of their favourite players. Imitation is the best form of flattery and in this case, it is spot on.
These days, several football players are celebrated for their personas both on the field and off it. However, banter can be a tricky thing. Underdogs are lavishly praised and some of the best players are derided even if they just have a bad day.
With that in mind, let's take a look at 5 players who are treated with much less respect than they actually deserve.
#5 Jordan Henderson
The less flashy players have always found it difficult to win over loyal fans. Jordan Henderson is a perfect example of this. The Liverpool captain is constantly looked at as nothing more than a squad player and that is quite a reductive argument.
Hendo is a vital cog in Jurgen Klopp's system. Every team needs mentality monsters. The Englishman is that and more. He is the engine of this Liverpool side and though his qualities might not be as obvious as that of the De Bruynes or Pogbas of the Premier League, he deserves to be mentioned alongside them.
Jurgen Klopp himself heaped praises on Hendo. He said,
“He’s our skipper, he’s a fantastic character. If I had to write a book about Hendo, it would be 500 pages. So I’m very positive. The most difficult job in the last 500 years of football was to replace Steven Gerrard
. In the mind of the people it was like if it’s not Stevie, then it’s not good enough. And he has dealt with that outstandingly well so he can be really proud. Now we have to think of the future and he is a very important part of our team.”
Henderson has been leading from the front whether it be assuming the place of an almost irreplaceable Steven Gerrard or exemplifying fight and drive when the team's running low on confidence.
The arrival of Fabinho has taken a load of Hendo's shoulder and he now operates in a more advanced position, even drifting to the wing at times and contributes greatly with his accurate passing and crossing.
#4 Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria has had an illustrious career. However, he is hardly ever mentioned as one of the greats in any discussions about forwards or attacking midfielders. Perhaps it's his versatility that is his bane.
The Argentine has been one of the world's best attackers for close to a decade now. In his worst season at Manchester United, the only term for which he was in the Premier League, he still racked up 12 assists. That's when he was underperforming.
These days, his name gets drowned out by all the noise around Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr at Paris Saint-Germain. But he has been just as important to Paris Saint-Germain as anybody else. Di Maria stacked up 18 assists and scored 12 goals this season across all competitions.;
He creates chances for fun and has made a habit out of twisting defenders' ankles with his dancing feet. Di Maria has also been one of Argentina's most important players over the last decade and they still believe that if the 32-year-old was available for the 2014 World Cup final, they would have won it.
Di Maria definitely deserves way more respect than he currently gets and should be considered one of the best players of his generation.
#3 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema's arrival at Real Madrid was tucked to the side due to the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. However, he is the only one who is still at the club and continues to perform at elite levels.
He has spent his entire Real Madrid career in the shadows of players like Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and now Eden Hazard. Kaka left and so did Ronaldo. James Rodriguez is set to be offloaded and the less said about the Gareth Bale situation, the better.
But Benzema has outlasted all of them and continues to lead the line for the Blancos. He was excellent this year again regaining the composure and level-headedness in front of goal that was such a feature of his game when he used to race with Lionel Messi for the La Liga Golden Boot.
Benzema has 248 goals from 512 games and is the 5th highest goalscorer of all time for Real Madrid. However, there are still legions of fans who call for him to be axed from the side.
It probably has a lot to do with his immediate neighbourhood. Benzema's accomplishments were often dwarfed by the otherworldly exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and even Gareth Bale on occasion. He perhaps did not become the star that Real Madrid fans want every signing to become but he's become a tested warrior.
Eitherway, the Frenchman deserves to be named as one of the best no.9s of our times.
#2 Neymar
Neymar has been slated for a variety of reasons. His attitude has come under the scanner a lot and the fact that he chose to move to PSG from Barcelona to break out of Messi's shadow did not gain him a lot of fans.
His recent rebellion at Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to force a return to Barcelona has now seen him fall out of favour with a section of the Ligue 1 champions' supporters. His salary and extravagant lifestyle are all used to poke fun at him.
But the Brazilian has not let any of these distractions take anything away from his game. His latest performance against Atalanta was gamechanging. But it was his teammate Kylian Mbappe who came on as a substitute and stole the limelight.
But Neymar showed elite mentality throughout, never giving up and going at the Atalanta defenders every chance he got. He completed 16 dribbles in the game. Neymar looks like a world beater every single time he comes out to play.
Neymar is measured on a different scale altogether. He is a player who is supposed to be winning the Ballon d'Or. So every little misstep is counted as a failure. He deserves a lot more respect than he is getting. His numbers continue to be spectacular.
#1 Thomas Muller
Yet another player who has missed out on a lot of fanfare because he is perhaps not as flashy as the ones who have really stood out. But Thomas Muller has been one of the greatest players of his generation and his contribution to Bayern Munich and Germany.
Even at the beginning of this season, Niko Kovac had looked at him more as a sub than a regular. However, he came back following Kovac's sacking and proved to the world why he is one of the most intelligent footballers on the planet. Muller provided a record 21 assists in the Bundesliga this season.
Thomas Muller has won the World Cup and has 9 Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Champions League title to his name. He reads the game better than almost everyone around and has made a habit out of producing goals for his side by popping up at the right place at the right time.
The German is one of the best attackers of the 21st century but hardly ever gets the credit he really deserves.
