3. Raphael Varane
This is getting tough. Especially tougher for the second and the third place. But I will go with Raphael Varane for third place. In the past few years, the Frenchman has been a very crucial player for Real Madrid. A regular starter and a Pillar of Defense.
Raphael Varane was having the best years of his football career at Real Madrid and was yet to reach his prime. But he decided to choose a different path. Unlike most of the players who wish to play for Los Blancos in their prime, Raphael Varane opted for a different challenge in a different league.
But then why did I include him in this list? Well, we are talking about a calendar year and Varane has played for almost 6 months as a Real Madrid player. So, he can very well be included in this list.
Now, my reason to take Raphael Varane in this list. It is pretty simple. Real Madrid was without Sergio Ramos for almost all of the last season, and yet Raphael Varane stood strong to lead the defence and instruct the fellow players on how to improve. Varane adapted to each of his partner- be it Eder Militao, Nacho Fernandez, or even Carlos Casemiro. The Frenchman performed his part very well and set an example for youngsters like Eder Militao.
The statistics reflect on his performance very well. The 28-year-old averaged 0.8 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and 3.5 clearances a game in the 2020-21 season. Raphael Varane used his height to good use which is evident by his average of 2.4 aerial duels won. His statistics are way too impressive in the total of 40/50 appearances he made, which tells us how crucially important and how great Raphael Varane was.
Varane did miss a few very important games last season (Chelsea for example) and since he does not offer much in attack, I would place him third in the ranking overall.