Champions League Team of the Season XI

There is one game left in the 2025/26 Champions League tournament. Arsenal and PSG will square off in the final, but who have been this year’s top players?

We’ll be looking at performances from across the tournament for this XI. However, players from teams who made it further than others will have a distinct advantage.

GK: David Raya

For our money, David Raya is the best goalkeeper in the world as things stand. Following his humble beginnings at Blackburn Rovers, he is now one game away from winning the Champions League.

A phenomenal shot-stopper who reads the game incredibly well, he kept an impressive total of nine clean sheets in the Champions League this year.

RB: Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi is the archetypal modern full-back. His key strengths lie in his attacking acumen, but he is also an incredibly tenacious defender who isn’t frightened to put in a solid challenge.

He is currently injured, but could be fit in time to feature in the final. He also won AFCON with Morocco earlier in the year – albeit, under highly controversial circumstances.

CB: William Saliba

William Saliba continues to maintain his status as the best centre-back in the world this season. Whether playing in the Premier League or the Champions League, Saliba has been imperious in 2025/26.

Unbeatable in the air and possessing pinpoint tackling ability, Saliba is an indomitable obstacle for any forward to overcome.

CB: Willian Pacho

Willian Pacho has played in all of PSG’s Champions League games in 2025/26. This alone should put him in an XI of this ilk – especially when you consider how impressive the Parisians have been this season.

The Ecuadorian international has been a fantastic partner for Marquinhos, doing much of the cultured Brazilian’s dirty work.

LB: Nuno Mendes

Nuno Mendes is the best full-back in the world. While previously categorised as a wing-back with minimal defensive ability, he has proven his critics wrong in 2025/26.

He has had plenty of defending to do this year in the Champions League, but he never wilted under pressure and always made sure that opposition wingers knew he was there.

RM: Michael Olise

The tricky Michael Olise has made huge leaps upon leaving Crystal Palace. He was a top talent at Selhurst Park, but he has turned into one of the best wingers in the world at Bayern Munich.

The French international tops this year’s assist charts in the Champions League, alongside Vinicius Junior – they each racked up eight assists this season (they also scored the same amount of goals, with both netting five).

CM: Vitinha

Vitinha is the definition of a midfield general. He is somewhat short in stature for a defensive midfielder, but he strides the pitch like a goliath. His passing, anticipation and movement is second-to-none as things stand.

Watching Vitinha dictate the tempo and control a game is a prodigious sight. He isn’t known as a goalscorer, but he has also scored six times in the Champions League this season

CM: Declan Rice

Declan Rice and Vitinha are, without question, the two best central midfielders in the world right now. Rice’s skillset seems to grow with each passing season, with this campaign serving as the culmination of everything he has learned.

A perfect passer, a strong defender and an excellent reader of the game, Rice has everything you could ask for in a central midfielder and more.

LM: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the best player in the world? Perhaps – his fantastic displays in the Champions League this season would certainly suggest so.

Having scored ten goals and racking up six assists in the Champions League this year, Kavaratskhelia passes far more than just the eye test.

ST: Harry Kane

Like Olise, Kane has also turned into a different beast after leaving the Premier League and joining Bayern Munich. Kane was already a phenomenal player at Tottenham, but he has morphed into one of the greatest forwards of all time with the Bavarian giants.

Only one player scored more goals than Kane did in the Champions League this year – we’ll get to him very shortly.

ST: Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe is football’s biggest contemporary superstar. He might not be the best player in the world any more, but he is amongst the best goalscorers in football today.

Mbappe was the top goalscorer in the Champions League this season, scoring 15 goals over the course of 11 games.