La Liga team of the year

After a few seasons of upheaval following the sales of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, La Liga was well and truly back to its best in 2022.

New superstars like Vinicius Junior have broken through, Real Madrid have won the Champions League, and Barcelona are becoming a force once again. It’s all great.

But who are the best players in the league right now?

We’ve taken a look:

GK – Marc-Andre ter Stegen – It really was a toss up between Ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois but we had to give the slight edge to the former because he’s conceded just five goals so far this season. Yes, five. That’s five fewer than any other starting goalkeeper in the division.

CB – Jules Kounde – One of the best defenders in Spain last season with Sevilla, and still one of the best now that he’s taken his talents to Barcelona.

CB – David Alaba – If we’re all being honest with ourselves, Alaba is the best defender in the world and has been for quite some time. Others have had a good season here and there, but Alaba has been absolutely brilliant for the best part of a decade now. He just never puts a foot wrong.

CB – Yeray Alvarez – A truly inspiring footballer, Alvarez has beaten cancer twice in recent years and then gone on to become one of the better centre-backs in all of Spain. The 28-year-old is a leader for Athletic Club.

RM – Yannick Carrasco – While Atleti have stumbled through the last few seasons, Yannick Carrasco has put in pretty damn good performances.

CM – Federico Valverde – There aren’t many footballers in the world that can strike a ball as well as Valverde. There aren’t many footballers who can do anything better than Valverde. He’s utterly brilliant.

CM – Dani Parejo – Seemingly in every single La Liga team of the year of the past decade, Parejo has been as great as ever in 2022.

LM – Vinicius Junior – Over the last 18 months Vini has transformed from a luxury player who couldn’t hit a barn door into a world class star who can hit a barn door. He’s one of the key reasons Real Madrid were so good in 2022.

CF – Iago Aspas – Now 35, it’s rather remarkable that Aspas is still scoring goals at the rate he is. After bagging 18 in La Liga during the 2021/22 campaign, he’s got himself a tidy return of seven in the first half of the current season.

ST – Robert Lewandowski – He’s only been in the league for half a season, but Lewa has bedding into life in La Liga pretty nicely. The former Bayern man has already scored 13 goals and looks a cert to win this season’s Pichichi.

CF – Karim Benzema – The best player in the world during the second half of the 2021/22 season, of course Benz is in this team. The French star was the difference maker for Los Blancos, winning his side the UEFA Champions League and La Liga, while also scooping up the Ballon d’Or for himself.