Lamine Yamal crowned Europe’s best as Kylian Mbappé headlines jaw-dropping 2025/26 Team of the Season

The numbers have been crunched, the ratings tallied, and the verdict is in – and what a verdict it is. Flashscore’s eagerly-awaited Team of the Season for 2025/26 has landed, and it reads like a manager’s wildest fantasy.

Headlined by Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid’s relentless Kylian Mbappé, the XI boasts an attacking unit so fearsome it would have opposition defenders reaching for the smelling salts before kick-off.

Flashscore’s editors assembled the elite based on the highest average match ratings across the planet’s biggest leagues – the same in-house system that drives the weekly Team of the Week selections.

Only competitions that have already wrapped up were eligible, meaning ongoing leagues were excluded from the reckoning, while cup runs and continental adventures were also kept out of the equation. To even be considered, players needed at least 25 match ratings during the season, with cameos of under 10 minutes failing to register.

What emerges is a side dripping with quality from front to back — but also one with a couple of surprises that prove the data doesn’t play favourites.

The unlikely hero between the sticks

Daniel Batz (Mainz) — 7.3

Perhaps the purest joy of this exercise is that it elevates names that don’t always grab the back-page headlines. Step forward Daniel Batz, the Mainz goalkeeper whose body of work simply could not be ignored. The numbers tell the tale of a custodian who was central to his club punching well above their weight to land a top-10 Bundesliga finish.

Batz produced heroics throughout the campaign, but he saved his finest hour for the very last day — a five-save masterclass earning a stunning 9.1 rating as Metz wrapped things up with a 2-0 victory at Heidenheim. Outside of the odd off-night when his team collectively wobbled, Batz was metronomic, regularly clocking ratings of seven and above.

A backline of grit, goals and grace

Jan Bednarek (Porto) — 7.5

Once a Premier League regular, Bednarek has reinvented himself in Portugal in spectacular fashion. The Polish centre-back was an ever-present anchor at the heart of the Porto rearguard, while also chipping in with four goals — no mean feat for a defender. The crown jewel of his season? Heading home the only goal in a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Benfica at the start of 2026.

Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) — 7.8

If Bednarek’s contributions impress, Schlotterbeck takes it to another level. The Germany international plundered five goals and added an assist from defence in the Bundesliga, but pigeon-holing him as merely an aerial threat would do him a disservice. His real artistry lies at his feet — pinpoint diagonals, raking switches, and the kind of vision usually reserved for a deep-lying playmaker. An 80% success rate on switches of play, 86% overall passing accuracy and close to 700 forward passes across the season underline why he’s regarded as one of the most complete ball-playing defenders in Europe.

Federico Dimarco (Inter) — 7.7

There may not be a more devastating wing-back on the planet right now. Dimarco’s 2025/26 was another exhibition of attacking incision, with the Italian recording 18 assists and seven goals — a barely believable 25 goal contributions from his left flank — to fire Inter to the Serie A title. His standout moment came in February when he assisted the opening three goals in a 5-0 demolition of Sassuolo.

Midfield magicians and the boy genius

Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) — 8.4

He may not have quite scaled the dizzying heights of his breakout 2024/25, but Lamine Yamal was still other-worldly throughout the campaign — and crucially, according to Flashscore’s database, he was the single best player in Europe this season. The teenager racked up 16 goals and 11 assists in LaLiga, a combined 27 goal involvements, comfortably the finest haul of his fledgling Spanish top-flight career.

What’s particularly eye-catching is the marked uptick in his goal output. The audacity to take aim from distance and consistently find one of the four corners with unerring accuracy is a new wrinkle in his game. The advanced metrics paint an even more flattering portrait — Lamine ranks in the top one percent of forwards across Europe’s big five leagues in most attacking categories. Frightening.

Joey Veerman (PSV) — 8.1

Veerman has become something of a cult figure for Flashscore’s Team of the Week regulars, so his inclusion here feels almost obligatory after another model of consistency in the Eredivisie. What sets the PSV man apart from your typical central midfielder is his sheer volume of end-product. Eight goals and an extraordinary 14 assists from a deeper role tell the story of a player whose unselfishness and pass selection put him among Europe’s elite creators. A Flashscore Team of the Season without him, frankly, would feel as wrong as a World Cup without Brazil.

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) — 8.1

Named the Premier League Player of the Season, Bruno Fernandes was the beating heart of everything Manchester United did well — and arguably enjoyed his finest individual campaign at Old Trafford. Smashing the Premier League assist record on the final day was the perfect bow on top of a season in which he spent the first half operating as a deep-lying midfielder, still managing 14 goal contributions from that role.

When Michael Carrick handed him the keys back to a more advanced position from mid-January, the floodgates opened. Yet what’s most striking is how the Portuguese has matured — adding patience and discipline to a game already overflowing with quality. Where, frankly, would United be without their skipper?

A forward line for the ages

Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) — 8.1

Two seasons into life in Bavaria, and the former Crystal Palace winger looks every inch a world-class operator. Olise was central to Bayern retaining the Bundesliga crown under Vincent Kompany, finishing with 15 goals and 19 assists. His showreel speaks for itself: an xG of just 11.5 producing 15 actual goals is a damning indictment of his clinical edge — and a testament to his ability to manufacture the spectacular from nothing.

Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) — 8.1

Mbappé continues to plunder goals at industrial rates in the Spanish capital, with 25 LaLiga strikes and 30 goal contributions another devastating personal return. Yet, as ever at Real Madrid, the conversation is rarely just about him. A trophyless season has once again left the Frenchman as the convenient scapegoat for the club’s wider issues. The cold reality? Mbappé is doing precisely what he was bought to do — score, score and score some more.

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) — 8.1

If there is a Ballon d’Or favourite right now, it might just be the England captain. Kane’s 2025/26 was a campaign for the ages — 36 league goals and 41 goal contributions in the Bundesliga, plus a staggering 61 goals in all competitions, the best return in Europe’s top five leagues. Tap-ins, headers, half-volleys, free-kicks — he scored the lot. A strong World Cup in the United States, and his trophy cabinet may finally have its glittering centrepiece.

João Félix (Al Nassr) — 8.1

The lone non-European representative in the XI, Félix’s switch to Saudi Arabia last summer has proved a resounding triumph.

The Portuguese forward signed off with 20 goals and 13 assists, including three hat-tricks, often outshining his celebrated compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo. He may be playing his football outside the spotlight of Europe’s top flights, but Félix has earned his seat at the table – and arrives at the World Cup brimming with belief.