Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Haaland: The highest-rated XI of 2022 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi will remember the year of 2022 very, very fondly.

At international level, the 35-year-old finally got his hands on the FIFA World Cup.

Messi was exceptional throughout Argentina’s successful campaign out in Qatar, scoring seven goals and winning the Golden Ball award for a second time.

And on the domestic scene, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner rediscovered something close to his best form.

The second half of 2021 saw Messi struggle to a degree after swapping Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain, but that’s now a distant memory.

In 2022/23 thus far, Messi has racked up some seriously impressive numbers.

Nineteen matches across all competitions with PSG have yielded 12 goals and 14 assists.

Read more – Messi, Mbappe, Haaland: Who had the most goal contributions in 2022?

It really has been the Messi of old and further evidence of that fact has come to light courtesy of the folks over at SofaScore.

The stats-based publication have now named their highest-rated XI of 2022, with Messi part of the star-studded team.

And the Argentine is the only player with an overall rating over 8.00.

Check out the XI in full, with seven of the footballers on show aged 30 or above…

The highest-rated XI of 2022

Goalkeeper | Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach) – 7.23

Right-back | Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United) – 7.66

Centre-back | Joel Matip (Liverpool) – 7.27

Centre-back | Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) – 7.31

Left-back | Jordi Alba (Barcelona) – 7.36

Defensive-mid | Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) – 7.83

Right-mid | Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) – 8.19

Centre-mid | Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 7.96

Centre-mid | Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) – 7.74

Left-mid | Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) – 7.76

Striker | Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 7.59

Unsurprisingly, Messi is joined by his PSG partners-in-crime, Neymar and Mbappe – who’ve been equally brilliant in 2022/23.

The French champions are the only team to have three players included in the XI, with City the other outfit to have multiple inclusions (De Bruyne and Haaland).

At the back, there are a few surprises – particularly at left-back, where Alba features ahead of the likes of Joao Cancelo and Alphonso Davies.

Trippier’s place at right-back would’ve been quite the shock a few months ago, but we’ve all seen just how good he’s been at high-flying Newcastle this season.

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We’ll start easy…

Michu Chico Flores

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