European TOTY 2018: Usual suspects headline starcast

The calendar year saw many memorable performances across the top five leagues in Europe.

With the drama of the World Cup, Manchester City's utter domination of what was meant to be the world's most competitive league and Modric winning the Ballon D'or, 2018 has been a year that football fans are not going to forget in a hurry.

We at Khel Now have put together our team of the year for 2018.

David De Gea

The Spanish shot-stopper was in excellent form for his side, Manchester United, winning the Premier League Golden globe after 15 clean sheets in the 2017-2018 season. A disappointing World Cup campaign with Spain is not enough to see him ousted from his spot in our team.

The players who performed exceptionally well in the last 12 months

Marcelo

Marcelo was part of the Real Madrid side that won a record third Champions League title in a row. The left-back has also been one of the few shining lights in what has been a disappointing campaign for Los Blancos so far. He takes his place at left back in our side.

Raphael Varane

Raphael Varane takes his place at centre-half after a dream 2018. The defender became the only player in the world to have won both the Champions league as well as the World Cup in this year. The 25-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the game.

Dejan Lovren

The Liverpool man joins Varane in the heart of our squad's defence. Lovren reached the finals of both the Champions League and the World Cup, failing to win either title. His Liverpool side now sit on top of the Premier League with the meanest defence in the division. 

Kyle Walker

The English full-back enjoyed a very successful first season in Manchester as his side won the Premier League title by a whopping 19 points. Walker was also an integral part of Southgate's England squad that made it to the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia.

Luka Modric

The player who has perhaps had the most successful 2018, has to be Luka Modric. Once named the worst transfer of the year by Marca, the midfielder won the Champions League, made it to the final of the World Cup where he won the golden ball, the FIFA Men's Best player award and capped it all off by winning the Ballon D'or, ending the Messi-Ronaldo era. 

Kylian Mbappe

What a player he is!

The 20-year-old Frenchman continues to defy all logic every time he steps onto a football pitch. Mbappe was instrumental in France's World Cup success, winning the “Best Young player” award. He won the Kopa trophy which is given to the best young player in the year as well as Ligue 1 with PSG.

Lionel Messi

Barcelona's main man, Lionel Messi has been on top form in this calendar year. He finished the year with another league and cup double and was Europe's top scorer and assister with 51 goals and 26 assists for club and country. He takes his place in the number 10 position in our side.

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Mohamed Salah

The 26-year-old was Liverpool's best player this year, powering them to the Champions League final. Salah had a hand in 36 goals in the league alone for his side in 2018, scoring 26 and assisting 10, which meant that he had scored three more than his nearest rival, Harry Kane. Salah completes our squad's midfield.

Cristiano Ronaldo

33 years and still going strong

At 33-years of age, most footballers would be on the decline but not Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese attacker won the Champions League with Madrid before his big money move to Juventus where he has continued to show his class. He scored 49 goals in 2018, just two behind his rival, Leo Messi.

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Antoine Griezmann

The French attacker joins Cristiano Ronaldo up top following a very successful 2018, where he lifted the World Cup as France's top scorer in the tournament. The 27-year-old won the Europa League with his club, Atletico Madrid and finished third in the Ballon D'or standings. Griezmann completes our Team of the Season for 2018.