Middlesbrough FC's stunning team they could name today had they kept their best players | OneFootball

FLW picks a best Boro XI from the last 10 years...

Middlesbrough Football Club have largely spent the last decade as a Championship side, but that doesn't mean the Riverside Stadium has been devoid of brilliant players over the last 10 years.

Despite an ill-fated 2016/17 Premier League campaign, the Teessiders have endured second tier football for longer than they would've liked in recent times.

Boro have gone close to retaking their seat among English football's elite on a number of occasions in recent times, but have fallen frustratingly short in numerous play-off appearances.

However, under the management of Michael Carrick, a talented coaching and backroom team, and the unwavering stewardship of chairman Steve Gibson, there is optimism that top-flight football will be the toast of the town come May 2025.

Football League World takes a look back over the last 10 years of football at the Riverside Stadium, and picks a combined XI of Middlesbrough's best players over the last decade had they kept all of their stars together...

GK - Victor Valdes

One of the club's most decorated players to ever wear the shirt, Middlesbrough stunned the footballing world when they announced the free agent signing of former Barcelona and Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes in July 2016.

The multiple-time Champions League and La Liga, as well as World Cup and European Championship winning goalkeeper made 28 Premier League appearances for Boro during the 2016/17 season, and that's all it would take for him to make this list.

Valdes would make a number of fantastic saves over the course of that campaign, with his performances playing vital roles in earning his side draws on the road with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City respectively.

Despite his relationship with the Middlesbrough faithful souring slightly towards the end of the season, he is the gold standard for goalkeepers on Teesside over the last decade.

RB - Emilio Nsue

There ain't nobody like Emilio Nsue when it comes to Middlesbrough's right-back spot over the last 10 years.

Somewhat of a problem position for the club in recent times, the Equatorial Guinea international - who's rebranded himself as a centre-forward lately - was a big part of Aitor Karanka's promotion-winning squad of 2015/16.

The adventurous right-back became a real cult figure on Teesside with his forward runs, and an infectiously fun personality that showed itself on the pitch, for good and for bad at times!

From a hilarious rainbow flick attempt at Craven Cottage, to the scorer of some important goals and provider of a number of assists, you couldn't help but love Nsue.

CB - Rav van den Berg

Despite only being a Middlesbrough player since the start of last season, Boro fans are already fearing the day he departs the Riverside Stadium, such is how impressive the young defender has been.

The Dutch youth international had a host of elite clubs chasing his signature last year, but it was Middlesbrough that he deemed the best fit at this stage of his career, and aren't Teessiders counting their lucky stars?

At just 20, Van Den Berg has quickly established himself as one of the most talented young defenders outside the Premier League, and should Boro fail to win promotion this season, they may well face the impossible task of retaining his services for another season.

He could well be a player that Boro fans look back on in a few years with glowing pride, as he stars on football's biggest stages...

CB - Ben Gibson

One of Middlesbrough's very own, Ben Gibson, is one of the club's finest and most successful academy graduates in many years.

The centre-back developed through Boro's youth system, and established himself as a real leader under Karanka. He formed an exceptional partnership with Daniel Ayala, in a Middlesbrough defence that shattered numerous club records on their way to promotion.

Gibson proved he could do it at the top level too, and even earned an England call-up during the 2016/17 season. A brilliant defender during his time in the North East.

LB - George Friend

If you were to ask most Middlesbrough fans who their favourite player has been over the last decade, many of them wouldn't think twice before uttering the name George Friend.

They'll probably preface that response with his nickname of "Gorgeous" too, as he was a hit on Teesside both on and off the pitch. When it comes to left-backs over the last decade, none have come overly close to Friend.

Signed for pennies from Doncaster Rovers, his trademark chop, warrior-like spirit, champion of the local community and iconic South Stand leaping celebration cemented his legacy as a true Middlesbrough icon.

An adopted Teessider, Friend epitomised everything that it means to play for Boro. A superb defender, and an equally first-class human being.

CM - Jonny Howson

Evergreen, ever reliable; Jonny Howson has become one of the most beloved Middlesbrough players of his time, and certainly one of the best.

The central midfielder has commanded the middle of Boro's midfield since signing from Norwich City in 2017, rarely missing a beat or indeed a game despite an injury-afflicted start to his age 36 2024/25 season.

Howson has been Middlesbrough's metronome for many years, setting the tempo and the standard, disrupting opposition game plans, scoring some big goals and providing numerous assists.

This year may well be his farewell tour at the Riverside Stadium, but he'll be determined that if this is to indeed be the final term of his Boro, and perhaps football career, to end it with promotion.

CM - Grant Leadbitter

You wouldn't think that Grant Leadbitter is a Sunderland fan through and through, such is the height of the regard he's held in on Teesside, but that speaks to how excellent he was as a Boro player.

Leadbitter captained Karanka's side to promotion, and led the club out of the doom and gloom of the Strachan era and into a brighter future under Mowbray, and then Karanka.

The industrious central midfielder left everything on the pitch every time he wore the Middlesbrough shirt, and supporters worshipped him for it.

His 11 goals and nine assists during the 2015/16 season is perhaps the best individual season from Boro central midfielder in many a year, with his performances that year making it impossible to leave him out of this team.

RW - Adama Traore

Sometimes, a player arrives at your football club that is like nothing you've seen before. For Middlesbrough fans, that was Adama Traore.

Signed from Aston Villa in August 2016, the former Barcelona winger presented as a player with an abundance of raw talent and untapped potential, that if extracted, would land the lucky club a fairly unstoppable force on the flank.

His five goals and 10 assists in 36 Championship games during the 2017/18 season is perhaps the closest glimpse we've gotten into a fully refined Traore, and it was a true sight to behold.

The Spaniard's Herculean strength and Olympic-level burst and speed were a combination that terrorized defenders all season long, and ultimately earned him an £18m move to Wolves in 2018.

LW - Stewart Downing

For some players, class really is permanent. That was precisely the case with Stewart Downing at Middlesbrough.

After dropping from the Premier League to the Championship - where he'd just bagged six goals and eight assists in 37 games with West Ham - to play for his boyhood club once again in 2015, Downing would roll back the years in a Boro shirt over the following few seasons.

The former England international would notch three goals and five assists to help his club win promotion back to the top-flight, before giving another three seasons of largely excellent and consistent performances.

Middlesbrough's greatest ever academy product, Downing sets the standard for left-wingers at the club in modern times.

CAM - Chuba Akpom

Middlesbrough's most deadly goalscorer in recent times, Chuba Akpom's rise from outcast to superstar was one that Boro fans will never forget.

The former Arsenal forward was given new life under Michael Carrick, as the Middlesbrough boss saw the potential for him to be a deadly attacking weapon as a number 10 that no other manager in his career had seen before.

28 goals and a Championship golden boot award later, and Akpom's 2022/23 season will forever remain in Teesside folklore, as he captured the imagination of the Riverside crowd like few had done before.

ST - Alvaro Negredo

"The Beast"; Alvaro Negredo may not have scored as many goals in a Middlesbrough shirt as some other centre-forwards over the last decade, but none have oozed as much class as he did.

His top-class pedigree was on show every time he put on the red and white shirt. Some brilliantly taken goals, a threat both in the air and with the ball at his feet, and a fantastically gifted footballer from a technical standpoint, Negredo had it all.

The former Manchester City striker was a real throwback to the days when Mark Viduka, Yakubu and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink roamed the Riverside, and he wouldn't have looked out of place playing in those Middlesbrough teams either.

Had the club surrounded him with better creative talent during the 2016/17 season, his nine Premier League goals may well have been closer to the 14-16 mark, which might've been enough to keep Boro in the top-flight...