The 2021-22 club campaign has come to an end, so GOAL has put together an all-star line-up from the 'Big Five' leagues…
The Champions League final brought the curtain down on an incredible season, with Real Madrid beating Liverpool to secure a La Liga-European Cup double for Los Blancos.
Elsewhere, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain have all been celebrating league titles, while Eintracht Frankfurt and Roma took home the lesser continental trophies.
But who were the top individual performers of the 2021-22 campaign?
GOAL's European Team of the Season attempts to answer that question…
Getty ImagesGK: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Courtois claimed after Saturday's Champions League final that he doesn't get the credit he deserves, particularly in England.
Well, not anymore!
The Belgium goalkeeper was outstanding in Paris, making an incredible nine saves as he almost single-handedly won the European Cup for Real Madrid with one of the great goalkeeping performances in a final.
And it's also important to stress here: the former Chelsea man wasn't just outstanding at the Stade de France – he has been brilliant for well over a year, playing a key role in Los Blancos' Liga triumph, too.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesRB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Not just a tremendous attacking full-back, Liverpool's hometown hero is one of the most creative players in world football full stop.
Indeed, Alexander-Arnold racked up a staggering 18 assists in all competitions across the 2021-22 campaign – only Thomas Muller and Kylian Mbappe managed more.
Alexander-Arnold is obviously going to cop some flak for Vinicius Junior's winner in Saturday's Champions League final, but there is absolutely no denying that his defensive game has come on leaps and bounds over the past season.
There is simply no better right-back in the world right now.
GettyCB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
There was considerable doubt over whether Van Dijk would return the same player after the knee injury which wrecked his 2020-21 campaign.
However, after an understandably sluggish start to the season, the Netherlands international got back to his brilliant best, playing a pivotal role in Liverpool coming desperately close to pulling off a historic quadruple.
He just makes it all so easy that when Michael Owen says he can't think of a better centre-back from the past 40 years, we struggle to disagree…
GettyCB: David Alaba (Real Madrid)
Let's face it: we knew right away that Alaba represented a great bit of business by Real Madrid.
Without even getting into his pay packet, picking up one of the most talented and versatile defenders in the world on a free transfer was always going to be a smart move.
Alaba, though, placed extra pressure on himself by taking over Sergio Ramos' No.4 jersey, but he has risen to the challenge.
As well as performing excellently at the heart of the Blancos backline, he also opened his account with a goal in the Clasico clash with Barcelona last October, and achieved something even more extraordinary by making a chair famous…