Midfield (attack and defence)
Starting from the left, we have one of the two best players in the world in Lionel Messi. The Barcelona man – even with missing two months of action late last year – has been simply superb. The elephant in the room is the number of goals; Messi has scored 32 goals in 33 appearances for club and country. A successful pass percentage of 82.2% also stands out as an amazing achievement for the little Argentine.
In the left-sided defensive midfield role, we have Tottenham Hotspur's Mousa Dembele. The Belgian has put in an average of 3.4 tackles per game making him one of the most astute defensive midfielders in the game. Add to that his successful pass percentage of 90.1% and the 4 goals he scored, it's no wonder the North Londoners are fighting for the Premiership title.
Alongside Dembele is another phenomenon in Paul Pogba. With an average of 2.1 tackles per game and 1.4 interceptions per game, Pogba is undoubtedly one for the future given he's only 23. The Frenchman has also scored 7 goals – many of them blinders – and has provided 9 assists for his teammates. His inclusion on this list is no surprise whatsoever.
The right winger/attacking midfielder is Barcelona's Neymar. Much like his teammate, Messi, Neymar has been in brilliant form all season shining even without the Argentine for a chunk of the season. While he's scored only 24 goals for the Catalan club, he's also provided 14 assists. Neymar has also averaged 4.6 dribbles per game which is one of the highest in Europe.
