Based on stats, these are the 15 best players in Europe in 2023–24.

• Jude Bellingham has been one of the best defenders in Europe’s top five leagues this season, and he’s been even better since joining Real Madrid last summer.
• Serhou Guirassy is quickly becoming a household name thanks to his goal-scoring prowess at Stuttgart, which has Premier League clubs interested in him.
• Harry Kane has been scoring goals at an amazing rate in the Bundesliga, which is why he is a leading candidate for the Ballon d’Or.

Putting together a list of the 10 best players from Europe’s top five leagues this season is not easy, of course. You can argue about it with your friends in the pub or over dinner with your dad, who insists on including players like David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane even though they aren’t recognisable anymore.

But take a moment to think about the question. Who has been the best football player in Europe this season? The forwards who have scored so many goals that Pele would be happy, the midfielders who keep the top teams in Europe running, and the defenders who look like bricks.

While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo used to play for Barcelona, they no longer do because they now play for Inter Miami and Al-Nassr, respectively. But don’t worry—the young, hungry stars of European football are ready to step in. Some of them have scored so many goals that it will blow your mind.

Still trying to come up with your own top ten? Don’t worry—WhoScored is here to save the day, even though the 2023–24 season isn’t over yet. They used a complicated statistical algorithm to find the average matching rate of the top 15 players in Europe and rank them. Let’s not lose any more of your time and get right to it, shall we?

Based on stats, these are the 15 best players in Europe in 2023–24.

Leroy Sané – Bayern Munich – 8.53

Pep Guardiola, who used to coach Manchester City, is apparently interested in signing Leroy Sané again because he has been so good this season. It’s easy to see why—statistics show that he is the best player in Europe’s top five leagues.

People who watch a lot of English football already know how dangerous Sane could be, but right now we’re seeing the German wide player at the top of his game. The lightning-fast winger has scored eight goals and set up six others in 11 Bundesliga games this season, which may have been helped by the arrival of Harry Kane.

Serhou Guirassy – Stuttgart at 8:40

Close behind Sane is Serhou Guirassy, a star player for Stuttgart who is quickly becoming a well-known name in football circles. Why not? The Guinean player has scored 15 goals in 666 league minutes, which is one every 44.4 minutes. He has eight caps for his country. Wow.

A lot of Premier League teams are interested in the scorer because he is playing so well right now. These teams include Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Bournemouth. That being said, we can talk about another day whether his record for scoring goals could translate to what is probably the hardest level in the world. It has been suggested that he could replace Michail Antonio, and his big move could happen in just a few months.

Harry Kane – Bayern Munich – 8.36

Seventeen goals. 11 times in total. What else do we need to say? We all knew Kane was a dangerous striker because he scored 278 goals in 430 games for Tottenham Hotspur. But even for him, those numbers are out of this world.

The English player has done so well in the Bundesliga that he is now one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or in 2024. He has scored 17 goals in 11 games and made an average of 4.5 shots per game. The high number of goals has led to an average match rating of 8.36, and it’s crazy that this rating is only third lowest. The level of competition in European sports, huh?

Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid – 8.04

This is him. Many people think that Jude Bellingham, who is only 20, is one of the best football players in the weird and wonderful world of football. He has taken La Liga by storm. So much so that it’s hard to remember the last time a player came to Madrid and made such an instant difference as the England regular has.

Within four to five months, the world-beating player from Birmingham has quickly quiet any doubters who had concerns about his £88.5 million price tag. It’s hard to believe that he’s only just getting started, but that’s how talented he is. Very scary hours.

Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain – 8.03

As the heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s shared throne, Paris Saint-Germain’s crown jewel has had another goal-filled season in the French city so far, scoring 13 goals in 11 league games. The 24-year-old is scoring goals and leaving defenders confused almost every week. Long may it continue!

Surprisingly, Kylian Mbappé is currently the tenth most expensive football player. Things have been rough for him at his current team, Paris Saint-Germain, where his future is uncertain and Lionel Messi has left, putting the hopes and dreams of the fans at the Parc des Princes in the hands of the stunning Frenchman.

Victor Boniface – Bayer Leverkusen – 8.01

Victor Boniface is at the heart of the Xabi Alonso-led revolution going on at Bayer Leverkusen. He has been scoring goals like crazy since moving there from Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer, having a hand in 12 goals (7G, 5A) in 11 league games. It was also said that Everton was interested in the constant goal threat. They will feel bad about their lost pursuit.

Leverkusen had to choose Boniface because they had already received £51 million from Aston Villa in return for Moussa Diaby. They haven’t looked back since, which is surprising since he was rated as one of the best summer signings. Many times more likely to double or even triple their profits when he goes for bigger things as he continues to become more famous.

Matias Soule – Frosinone – 7.86

Matias Soule, a 20-year-old Argentine starlet, is one of the less well-known stars on the list. The talented wide forward was a bright spot for Juventus’ youth teams, and in December 2022, he was given a chance to play for the first team. He has scored a goal every other game while on loan at Serie A team Frosinone and has set up one goal as well.

Soule has shown that he can do well in one of Europe’s top games. Now that he has more experience, he will move up by going back to Turin and becoming a regular. Argentinian football has a very bright future because of players like Messi and Aguero, who are from the same country and have taken the world of football by storm.

Even though Haaland had a record-setting season, he is only seventh on the list.

Alex Grimaldo – Bayer Leverkusen – 7.78

Alex Grimaldo, a left back for Bayer Leverkusen and Spain, has watched his time and quietly become a regular goal threat for Alonso this season. He has scored six goals and set up four others since the 2023–24 season began, giving him an average match rating of 7.78 from WhoScored.

The Spanish player is very good at getting into attacking positions and rarely makes a mistake in the final third. He also makes sure that his defensive tasks are done well. He is a big threat because he can consistently hit the ball, which is reason A for Spain to consider him for the wide left defender spot at Euro 2024.

Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan – 7.73

Lautaro Martinez’s name has been linked to some of the Premier League’s biggest names every summer, but he has quickly fallen out of sight this season. This season, the Argentine scored 12 goals and set up one more. He has once again shown how valuable he is to the Nerazzurri, and he is ready to dedicate his future to the team.

The most expensive 26-year-old football player in the world, he played very well for his country in the World Cup and will be an important player for Lionel Scaloni for many years to come if he keeps up his current level of play.

Erling Haaland – Manchester City – 7.67

The Norwegian star is the first of three players that Manchester City needs to sign. He is just outside the top ten. Erling Haaland had a record-setting season with the Sky Blues and was named to GIVEMESPORT’s Premier League Team of the Season so far. There were many questions about whether he would be able to keep scoring like it’s nothing or if he would reach a plateau.

But nope, he went right back to his crazy ways of getting goals. He has played in 12 Premier League games and scored 13 goals. WhoScored gives him a 7.67 match grade. Also, just so you know, Haaland is only 22 years old. 22 years old!

Rodri – Manchester City – 7.62

Take this and that from Haaland. Players like Rodri, who is always reliable and is second only to Kevin De Bruyne in the league’s list of the best midfielders, are what hold Guardiola’s rising success in Manchester together. Fans tend to focus on goal-scoring forwards, so defensive midfielders don’t get as much attention. However, the Spanish player deserves all the praise that is given to him.

Guardiola’s treble-winning team in 2022–23 was missing a key player. The huge difference in performance between when he is on the pitch and when he is not shows once more why he is the best player of our time. Do the following: When was the last time Rodri did something bad? Right on.

Jonas Hoffman – Bayer Leverkusen – 7.59

As manager of Leverkusen, Alonso has clearly shown that he can step things up a notch. Jonas Hoffman is the best example of this. The 31-year-old is by no means a bad player; he has finally gotten what seems to be the peak of his skills. He has five goals and five assists, which is a great sign of how much he has improved on the wing.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach player joined rivals Leverkusen in the summer and hasn’t looked back since. He is now a full-fledged Germany international. On the way to what could be a league-changing win, his help in the closing third will be very important for Boniface as he and his new coach continue to enjoy life.

Bukayo Saka – Arsenal – 7.59

Surprisingly, Arsenal’s famous star boy is very low on this list. Fans of the red side in north London have put all of their hopes on the young Bukayo Saka for many seasons now. He is expected to become a Gunners hero.

Mikel Arteta’s team, led by the Englishman, want to improve their chances after finishing five points behind the leaders last time. Saka has definitely got them off to a great start in their quest to become English champions. Even though Saka’s all-around play is more than meets the eye, it would be wrong to ignore the fact that he has scored four goals and set up four others in 11 games.

Jeremy Doku – Manchester City – 7.59

Starting quickly in the Premier League is something that even the best teams have had trouble with over the years. Jeremy Doku, on the other hand, has had no trouble finding his feet. His four assist-haul against Bournemouth was the best example of his ability, and he became the newest member of an exclusive club.

Pep Guardiola paid £55.5 million for the Belgian, and he has given their front line a spark and excitement that someone like Haaland doesn’t really bring to the table. The former Rennes star is only 21 years old, but he has already scored two goals and set up five others in 556 minutes of Premier League play. He could be a regular on the wing for Guardiola and his team for a long time.

James Maddison – Tottenham Hotspur – 7.58

At first, it looked like a bad world for Tottenham fans without Kane, but the Englishman, who used to play for Leicester City, has stepped up since his countryman left for big money. James Maddison, Spurs’ creator-in-chief, has formed a two-man relationship with Kane’s former partner in crime, Heung-min Son. This has made the north Londoners a possible title contender.

The player has helped the capital club score eight goals, including three goals and five assists in the league. He has put them near the top of the table, but can he go one better and lead them to a trophy at the end of the season? At the time of writing, he is out getting better from an injury, but if he can come back and keep firing on all pistons, they might start to dust off the party poppers.