Ranking the 10 best players in 2020

#7 Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich was part of the treble-winning Bayern Munich squad.

For Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich, Joshua Kimmich has been a critical player because of his ability to slot in at two different positions and deliver world-class performances from both those positions.

He has largely been used as a defensive midfielder for most of the year and has been vital to the high-pressing, high-intensity Bayern system under Flick.

However, in the most important tournament of the year for Bayern - the UEFA Champions League - Kimmich played as a right-back in the knockout stages.

Benjamin Pavard's injury meant that Bayern had to find a solution at right-back, and they found Kimmich to deliver big performances in the big games.

In the final - which Bayern Munich won 1-0 against Parish Saint-Germain - it was Kimmich who delivered the cross for Kingsley Coman to head home the winner.

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#6 Neymar

Neymar almost delivered the ultimate success at PSG.

Neymar was a whisker away from delivering the ultimate success for Paris Saint-Germain in 2020 but fell short at the final hurdle of the UEFA Champions League. PSG lost 1-0 to Bayern in the final, where they had enough chances to even tilt the game in their favor.

He played a big part in PSG reaching the final as well, with influential performances throughout the knockout stages of the competition.

He scored in both legs of the Round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, which happened before the lockdown.

After that, he had an assist each in the quarter-final and semi-final, in which PSG beat Atalanta and RB Leipzig, respectively.

The French Ligue 1 did not resume to continue the 2019-20 season after the lockdown, with PSG being awarded the title by virtue of being top when the competition was suspended.

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#5 Thomas Muller

Thomas Muller has had a year of rejuvenation under Hansi Flick.

Along with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller's transformation back into the world-class performer he was a few years ago is a credit to Hansi Flick's work at Bayern Munich.

With respect to Muller, Flick decided to get the German international back to what he does best. He played him in the role behind Robert Lewandowski, from where he could drift across the pitch.

With that freedom given to him, Muller was once again back to enjoying his role. In the second half of the Bundesliga last season, encompassing 17 games, Muller scored six goals and contributed 10 assists for Bayern Munich.

He also scored twice in Bayern Munich's 8-2 UEFA Champions League quarter-final win over Barcelona in August.

This season, Muller already has nine goals and 10 assists to his name in all competitions, as Bayern once again find themselves leading the race for the Bundesliga title.

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#4 Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne equaled the record most assists in a single Premier League season.

Even though Manchester City didn't manage to win their third Premier League title in a row, Kevin De Bruyne had an excellent year on a personal level.

Last season in the Premier League, he managed to equal Thierry Henry's record for most assists in a single Premier League season, with 20.

That didn't really matter to the title race in the end, as City still finished 18 points behind eventual winners Liverpool.

There was a chance that De Bruyne could have been placed a little higher on this list, but, like the rest of the City team, he has had an indifferent start to the 2020-21 campaign.