Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona: The potential 2022/23 XIs of Europe's biggest clubs | OneFootball

The seismic news that Kylian Mbappe is staying at Paris Saint-Germain this season has drawn the attention of thousands of fans to the reality that the 2022/23 campaign is closing in.

While the Premier League, Champions League and more still need to be concluded, the fact that we’re talking about gigantic summer signings already goes to show that next season is creeping up already.

As such, it’s that exciting and giddy time of year where supporters start to wonder how their team might line up after the summer compared to how they’ve turned out for the current campaign.

Looking forward to the 2022/23 season

And now that more and more information is leaking about huge transfer stories like the Mbappe saga, we wanted to carry out that very thought exercise with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Here at GIVEMESPORT, we’ve already drawn up the potential 2022/23 XIs of the ‘big six’ Premier League clubs and now we’re turning our attention to the most prestigious sides on the continent.

Granted, that’s a subjective topic unto itself, but we’re nevertheless satisfied that the clubs we’re speculating about are indeed the biggest players on the European mainland as things stand.

And to construct their possible line-ups for next season, we’ve thought about both the incomings and outgoings that we consider to be both feasible and desirable for each side over the next few months.

Naturally, the unpredictable nature of football will no doubt mean that we’re left with egg on our face in just a few weeks’ time, but that doesn’t make the exercise any less fun or intriguing.

“Raphinha To Manchester United ON” (Football Terrace)

European giants’ potential 2022/23 line-ups

So, without further ado, be sure to check out how we think Europe’s biggest male football teams will line up for the 2022/23 season when all the drama of the transfer window comes to a close.

AC Milan

A quiet start here with not too much change expected for the potential Serie A holders, barring Franck Kessié’s inevitable departure and Divock Origi adding a new forward option from the bench.

But we do like the idea of Milan bagging themselves an upgrade on Alexis Saelemaekers in the form of Marco Asensio, who has showcased his ability out wide on the right for Real Madrid this season.

Atletico Madrid

Again, don’t expect Diego Simeone to completely uproot his Atletico XI over the coming months with Ángel Correa, Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix making up for Luis Suarez’s emotional departute.

Nevertheless, Los Rojiblancos could do a lot worse than making good on the reports of a move for Boubacar Kamara, who would be the perfect candidate to replace Geoffrey Kondogbia in the long run.

Barcelona

It’s all happening at Barcelona this summer! While Frenkie de Jong might be on his way to Old Trafford, the Blaugrana are once again set to make the most of free transfers amidst their financial woes.

The arrivals of Kessié and Andreas Christensen are seemingly all but confirmed, while reports that Cesar Azpilicueta and Robert Lewandowski will follow them through the door are intensifying by the day.

Bayern Munich

And Lewandowski donning the red and blue stripes of Barca leaves the German champions in a serious dilemma because replacing a striker who practically bags 50 goals every season is nigh on impossible.

Nevertheless, the rumour mill would have you believe that Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic is their preferred replacement, while Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui both look set to arrive from Ajax.

Borussia Dortmund

With Erling Haaland swapping the Signal Iduna Park for Manchester City, BVB need to invest in their front line and the highly-rated Hugo Ekitike could well follow up the already-confirmed signing of Karim Adeyemi.

Meanwhile, our job was made very simple by the fact that Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck are already locked in as Dortmund players, even if we can’t see them both dislodging Mats Hummels just yet.

Inter Milan

Yes, Alessandro Bastoni and Denzel Dumfries could be on their way to the Premier League, but there’s still a lot to like about Inter’s potential back five with Gleison Bremer and Andre Onana on the scene.

Plus, it’s looking increasingly likely that Paulo Dybala will transition from his Juventus exit to the blue and black stripes of Inter, which could make for an energetic and dynamic strike partnership.

Juventus

The Old Lady are finding their feet again, but things could be looking a whole lot brighter if they can secure a move for Paul Pogba, who looks set to leave Manchester United upon the expiry of his contract.

Marry that to a seemingly inevitable raid for Angel Di Maria as well as the potential for a permanent acquisition of Alvaro Morata and Juventus’ attack will look stunning next season if nothing else.

Paris Saint-Germain

Boring, right? Ok, sorry, but the neutral fan inside of us wanted Mbappe to mix things up and move to the Bernabeu with news of his decision to the contrary now teeing up PSG for a quiet summer.

After all the chopping and changing of 2021, as well as the inevitable financial crater caused by Mbappe’s renewal, we can’t see the Parisians signing anyone who would slot immediately into their first XI.

Real Madrid

No Mbappe, no problem. Ok, things aren’t quite that simple because there isn’t really a comparable player to the Paris Saint-Germain star that Los Blancos could sign to complete their front three.

However, we’re encouraging them to snap up Ajax’s Antony as a young and exciting replacement for Asensio over the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Serge Gnabry. Oh, and lest we forget Rudiger’s arrival…

Have we got it right?

You’re reading this in September 2022 and laughing at us, aren’t you? I knew it…

Ok, jokes aside, we’re pretty confident that our projected XIs represent our best guesses on how each side might line up at the start of the 2022/23 campaign based on the information we know now.

Ultimately, though, we live in a world where Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Manchester United out of the blue and Lionel Messi sensationally leaves Barcelona, so anything can happen this summer.

But that really is the joy of the transfer window because if we could sit here and predict these potential XIs with 100% certainty, then it just wouldn’t be as fun. Bring on the carnage!