Before the first Champions League Round of 16 matches take place on Thursday night, let’s hand out Team of the Season honors for the 2025/26 campaign so far to help preview the big stars that will be in action this week.
GK David Raya, Arsenal
David Raya is unquestionably the Goalkeeper of the Tournament thus far with an outrageous save percentage of 90 and a clean sheet in nearly three out of every four of his games. Arsenal have a tremendous back line, obviously, but Raya deserves a lot more praise internationally for his goalkeeping.
LB Alejandro Grimaldo, Bayer Leverkusen
Alex Grimaldo is 30 years old and still going strong, and you wonder if Real Madrid maybe regret not signing him along with Alvaro Carreras. What he offers offensively as a left back is so unique, as he has scored four goals with two assists this Champions League with 2.3 key passes per game while still averaging an outstanding 4.4 combined tackles and interceptions per match.
CB Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City
Picking the starting center backs for this team was not easy, but Josko Gvardiol belongs here. He is an elite athlete who passes the ball as accurately as any center back and is reading the game at a top level in this Champions League campaign with 1.8 interceptions per game. If anything, Gvardiol is becoming a bit underrated.
CB Gabriel Magalhaes, Arsenal
Arsenal’s best player in the current Champions League campaign, Gabriel Magalhaes has been blocking shots at an insane clip, playing no nonsense defense at the highest level of the game.
CM Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool
Dominik Szoboszlai is having the best season of his career, and he is saving his best work for the Champions League. The Hungarian superstar has four goals and four assists in eight games for a goal contribution per game while averaging 2.6 key passes per match. He is Liverpool’s top creator in the Champions League while still showing up as an engine and ball winner in midfield.
CM Declan Rice, Arsenal
Although Declan Rice has actually been a bigger standout in the Premier League than the Champions League, he is still averaging 2.3 key passes per game while playing shutdown defense in the middle of the pitch.
CM Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid
The competition with England teammate Phil Foden and Inter Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu was tough, but Jude Bellingham’s ability to impact all phases of the game and keep this Madrid midfield afloat earned him the nod. He is averaging nearly three combined tackles and interceptions per game and dribbles completed and fouls drawn per match.
LW Jens Petter Hauge, Bodo Glimt
What a season Bodo Glimt are having, and as the biggest name in the squad, Jens Petter Hauge is, himself, turning in a campaign for the ages. The 26 year old has 6 goals to his name with an average of 2.3 key passes and 4.0 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per match. He is doing it all for Bodo.
RW Lamine Yamal, Barcelona
It sneaks up on you just how much Lamine Yamal does for this Barcelona team, and people are already taking for granted how incredible he is. Yamal is averaging a goal contribution per game, but the goals and assists don’t tell the whole story. He is averaging an outrageous 4.5 dribbles completed per game, 2.7 key passes per match, and 2.3 fouls drawn per contest. Beyond human.
ST Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe has been the best player in the Champions League, bar none, which is saying something since the two wingers in this side have also been insane. But with 13 goals in 8 starts, 3.3 key passes per game, and 2.1 dribbles completed per match, Mbappe lives on another planet. His attacking teammates should be ashamed of themselves.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.