The international football website Goal.com has named their top 50 players of the 2013/14 football season. Al Ain's Asamoah Gyan was No 35. Here is a look at who made the top five, and why:
1 – Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid did not win the Primera Liga but it was not for the want of trying from Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 48 league goals. He scored all four goals in Portugal’s World Cup play-off against Sweden to get his country to the World Cup finals. He also scored five hat-tricks during the season.
2 – Arjen Robben
The Dutchman impressed both for his country and for his club, Bayern Munich. His pace and attacking flair helped Bayern win a league and cup double in Germany for a second successive season and he scored three times in the Netherlands’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.
3 – Lionel Messi
His four goals helped Argentina reach the World Cup final, where they fell short to Germany. Injury truncated his domestic season in Spain with Barcelona, but he still found the net 28 times in the Primera Liga and scored four hat-tricks for the Catalans.
4 – Philipp Lahm
A fine season was capped as he became the fourth German to lift the World Cup. Traditionally used as a left-back, Lahm, 30, was surprisingly moved into midfield by Pep Guardiola, Bayern’s new coach, where he showed great poise as he helped his side dominate domestically.
5 – Thomas Muller
The midfielder can also play in attack. The third Bayern player in the top five found the net 18 times for his club side. But his year was memorable for his heroics at the World Cup, his five goals, including three against Portugal, helped Germany to the title.
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