Skysports.com's foreign correspondents select the stars of the season from around the continent.
Skysports.com's expert foreign correspondents select the stars of the season from around the continent
With the top-flight seasons around Europe almost over, skysports.com's foreign correspondents have considered the 2010/11 campaign to select their best players.
There have been a number of star performances in Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands and picking a standout individual from the mass of talent is therefore a difficult process.
But Lionel Messi, Antonio Di Natale, Nuri Sahin, Gervinho and Theo Janssen have been selected as a cut above the rest and here our expert reporters from around the continent explain their reasons.
Primera Liga
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) by Phil Seery
Messi was the standout performer in the Primera Liga this season as he put a disappointing World Cup with Argentina behind him and inspired Barcelona to a third successive league title.
Messi, still only 23, ran defences ragged with his mazy runs and clinical finishing which resulted in a haul of 31 league goals in 33 games.
The little Argentine was nine goals behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts, but what set him apart from his Portuguese rival was the number of goals he created with clever through passes.
Messi had the dual role of creator and goalscorer at Barcelona and his creativity was underlined in the 5-0 El Clasico mauling of Real at Camp Nou in November, when he set up two of the goals and led opponents a merry dance all evening.
With his injury problems seemingly now behind him, Messi tormented defences all season and also has the uncanny ability of weighing in with big goals in big games.
His ability to dribble past players, score goals and create underlined why he is widely regarded as the best player on the planet and retained the Ballon D'Or ahead of team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
Serie A
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) by Nadia Carminati
Last summer the striker was criticised a lot for refusing an offer from Juventus and instead deciding to stay at Udinese.
However, one year later, we are now writing that he has just celebrated not only leading the Italian goalscoring charts, but also helping Udinese to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Di Natale is surely the face of Italian football's new era.
With the exception of AC Milan and Inter Milan, this season Udinese and Napoli were the best sides in Serie A.
And despite a not so young age, 33, Di Natale managed to score 28 goals.
Bundesliga
Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund) by Thomas Zocher
Sahin was the most influential player in securing the Bundesliga title.
No-one was able to match his talents. Sahin reads the game extremely well and is able to bring his team-mates into the right positions.
He marshalled the Dortmund team from his central midfield position with fine passing, good close control and strategic ideas. A skilful leader of a rampant side.
It was not for no reason that the Dortmund fans, as well as the club's board, tried their best to convince the player not to agree a deal at Real Madrid.
The final four weeks of the season, when Sahin was out with a foot injury, were the toughest matches of the Dortmund campaign, which further underlined his importance.
Sahin was for Dortmund what the media and the German public felt Bastian Schweinsteiger was not for former Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Ligue 1
Gervinho (Lille) by Patrick Haond
Gervinho has probably been the most decisive player in the Lille Double-winning team. Indeed, the vivacious winger scored 15 and assisted nine goals in Ligue 1.
The 24-year-old forward has amazing dribbling ability which created a lot of opportunities during the whole season. He is always a nightmare for defenders with his incredible pace.
Moreover, the Ivory Coast international can still improve his efficiency in front of goal and he can surely score more goals in one season.
Gervais Yao Kouassi, educated at the famous Jean-Marc Guillou Academy at Abidjan, got his Brazilian nickname for his amazing technical skills.
Even if he got one red card in Ligue 1 this season at Monaco, for dissent after being regularly fouled, the African ace has a very good mentality and is a team player.
Eredivisie
Theo Janssen (FC Twente) by Gerrit van Leeuwen
There is no doubt that Janssen is the player of the season in the Eredivisie.
The 29-year old midfielder scored 13 goals out of 30 league games for Twente.
With Twente, he ended as runner-up in the Eredivisie, secured the Dutch Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Janssen is a real icon in the Dutch football scene, not only because of his fantastic left foot but also because of his alleged party lifestyle. Now Janssen has even earned a transfer to Ajax.
