63. Thibaut Courtois

Following Chelsea’s shambolic title defence and Belgium’s defeat by Wales in the Euros, Courtois' stock arguably hit an all-time low in 2016. With the goalkeeper constantly flirting with Real Madrid throughout the summer like two lovers encouraging each other to make the first move, his standing with the Chelsea faithful fell too.

The Blues' slow start this term forced Antonio Conte's switch to a back three, though, which led to six consecutive clean sheets from the start of October to the end of November. Courtois, as a result, spent more time twiddling his thumbs than saving shots. "At half-time [against Everton] I did some extra warming up," the keeper admitted following Chelsea's 5-0 rout.

Question marks remain about his command of the penalty box, but his shot-stopping and cat-like reflexes means he's still one of the best in his position. – BC

62. Thiago Silva

The Brazilian was disappointed not to be involved in this year's Rio Olympics, but that was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Thiago Silva. Well, that and David Luiz leaving PSG for Chelsea.

With the league done and dusted by the time New Year rolled around, the ex-Milan centre-back pushed on and demonstrated his skills as a deep-lying playmaker at the start of 2016. He's been in fine form so far this season too, proving he's still one of the best defenders in Europe, while new Brazil boss Tite has restored him to the Seleção squad.

A partnership with Marquinhos looks much stronger than the Thiago Silva-David Luiz equivalent, and the former is now able to concentrate fully on his own defending. – AG

61. Xabi Alonso

The effortless manner in which Alonso plays the game means it’s not at all surprising that he remains one of world’s foremost central midfielders at the age of 35. Now in his third campaign at Bayern Munich, the former Real Madrid and Liverpool lynchpin hasn’t lost any of his magnificent passing ability, nor the intelligence to find space and evade opposition markers. 

The man himself perfectly summarised his role – which is virtually unchanged since his early days at Real Sociedad – in June. “When we win the ball, my job is to get it from the defence to the attackers in the best possible way, [so they can] go one-on-one or have a good position to make the last pass,” he told Sports Illustrated. “You won’t see me like Luka Modric, dribbling through guys. That’s hard for me. The pass – that’s more natural for me.” – GL