The highest-rated XI of 2023 has officially been named | OneFootball

It's the New Year and 2023 is officially in the books. With that, we can now look at the year conclusively as a whole. The last 12 months have seen some pretty incredible moments within football. From Manchester City's treble-winning efforts to Cristiano Ronaldo's resurgence in Saudi Arabia, there have been some big talking points.

Now that the year has wrapped up, though, we can identify just which players had the best 12 months out of anyone. There are no more games to make a case, so now is as good a time as any to put together a list of the best players throughout 2023 and that's exactly what Sofascore have done.

Looking at the top five leagues in Europe, they've compiled the very best XI of players, using their own Sofascore ratings to help decide. There are some pretty wild absentees, with Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah nowhere to be seen, while there are also some pretty surprising inclusions, so let's get into it.

The Real Madrid star has the highest rating in the XI with 7.75

After a solid first half of 2023, Jude Bellingham's move to Real Madrid saw him take a huge leap and his recent form has seen him emerge as one of the very best players in the world. The Englishman has been incredible in Spain, putting up some absurd numbers, so it's not all that surprising to see him pick up the best Sofascore rating in 2023 with an average of 7.75.

The rest of the attack is pretty loaded too, with Harry Kane partnering Antoine Griezmann up front. The former has a Sofascore of 7.73, only just trailing Bellingham and that's for good reason. The former Tottenham Hotspur man has had a fantastic 12 months both for Spurs and more recently for Bayern Munich where he was been torching the Bundesliga. Griezmann is experiencing a career resurgence at Atletico Madrid and has an average rating of 7.72.

Kylian Mbappe makes the team to the shock of no one as he continues to be one of the best players in all of football, but the inclusion of Domenico Berrardi is one that will catch many off guard. The Italian has been consistently performing at a high level for Sassuolo in Serie A over the years and his 7.56 rating is a testament to how important he's been for the team.

The defence includes some surprises

It features three Premier League stars

While the attack is a real who's who of impressive European talent, the back end of the team features several Premier League stars. Virgil van Dijk partners Juventus' Danilo in the centre of defence. The two have had solid years, with the former in particular being a standout for Liverpool recently. On either side of them is a pair of Premier League stars, with Kieran Trippier at right-back. That is hardly a surprise, with the Newcastle United man playing a key role in the Magpies' success recently.

What is shocking, though, is Pascal Gross' spot at left-back. Don't get it twisted, the Brighton & Hove Albion man has had a fantastic 12 months and his 7.42 average rating can testify to that, but it's his position in the team that's surprising. He isn't exactly known for turning out at left-back, with the majority of his performances coming elsewhere on the pitch, so we're not too sure about this one.

Another surprising addition is Monza's Michele Di Gregorio in between the sticks. The Italian has an average rating of 7.32 which earns him a spot, while Joshua Kimmich rounds out the side in the centre of midfield in a more expected appearance.

There you have it, the best XI of players from Europe's top five leagues according to Sofascore. We wouldn't be too surprised if we saw some of these stars make it in the best XI of 2024 in 12 months too, but only time will tell on that one.