There are football players who carry their whole team be it they are the captain or not. Football is a team sport, yes, but there are certain players who make it look like an individual sport with how much they elevate their teams. They carry the entire team on their back and it almost always looks like the team can’t function without them. We want to look at some of such players today.
These are 7 Players Who Carry Their Whole Team right now
1. Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is literally the spine of the Manchester City team, and that’s saying a lot because City is obviously the best team in the world right now.
This guy picked up an injury in the first game of the Premier League season and was out for the first half of the season. 5 months later, he came off the bench with City 2-1 down and 20 minutes left to play against Newcastle, and he completely turned the game on its head, scoring the equalizer just 5 minutes after coming on, and assisting the winner in additional time.
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Now, that’s the purest example of a player uplifting a team. And it’s not just about that one game, you know. KDB is always showing up at vital moments for Man City; he has been their best player for years and he’s always able to change the game in just a blink of an eye, whether by creating goals or by scoring them himself.
2. Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham came into Real Madrid and elevated the entire team instantly. We’re talking about the biggest club in the world that just lost their best player and top scorer. Bellingham came in and, despite being a midfielder, replaced Karim Benzema rather perfectly.
He started uplifting the team with his goals and tremendous performances week in, and week out. He was so good that he became the first Englishman to be named La Liga Player of the Month and he did it in his first month there. He also equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 10 goals in the first 10 games for the club.
Right now, he sits at the top of La Liga’s goal-scoring charts and his goals have pretty much kept the club in the title race this season. And apart from the numbers, Bellingham’s mentality seems to have elevated the team and they look reinvigorated and ready to conquer the world once again. That’s what one signing can do to your season.
3. Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer has come in this season and uplifted the entire Chelsea team. This lad made the bold decision to leave Man City because he wasn’t getting enough playing time, and that decision appears to have paid off massively.
Palmer has been so immense since moving to Chelsea, and he has become their main player and top-scorer. Yes, the Blues are still not where they want to be, but they’re certainly in a better place than they would’ve been without Cole Palmer’s 13 Premier League goal contributions this season.
Chelsea are 9th right now and they have their eye on a European spot, but we all know they would’ve been worse off if they hadn’t signed Palmer.
And here’s how you know, listen to this; nobody has scored more winning goals in the Premier League so far this season than Cole Palmer. And when you add goals that have helped Chelsea secure vital draws like the one against Man City, you’d see how much this kid has lifted Chelsea in just a matter of months.
4. Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann has been so immense for Atletico Madrid since his return, and that’s why he’s currently the club’s all-time top scorer.
Look at his incredible solo goal against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Now, that’s exactly how to give your team a lift in extra time of a hard-fought knockout contest against your biggest rivals!
Do you want to know how much Griezmann uplifts Atletico?
Last season, he was the club’s top scorer and top assist provider, La Liga’s top assist provider, the only La Liga player to record double figures for goals and assists, and the joint-top assist provider in Europe’s top 5 leagues, tied with Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi.
Without Griezmann, where would Atletico Madrid be right now?
5. Harry Kane
Did you guys see Bayern Munich last season? They were practically begging for a savior. They struggled to score goals, got knocked out in the quarter-final of the Champions League, and only won the league on goal difference because Dortmund bottled it on the last day.
But they brought in Harry Kane in the summer and everything looks so different. Bayern now look like a proper team once again.
The Englishman has been breaking records left and right. He’s the first player to score 17 goals after 11 Bundesliga games, he’s already the highest-scoring Englishman in a single Bundesliga season, and he has equaled Lewandowski’s record for most goals in the first half of a Bundesliga season.
The wonders he has been doing since he joined have made Bayern look like a really scary club once again, and now, everybody is back to fancy them to win the Champions League. Now, that right there is an uplift if we’ve ever seen one.
6. Ivan Toney
Another player who uplifts his team is Ivan Toney. And it’s not even hard to see. Last season, Toney was active, he had 24 goal contributions in 33 Premier League appearances and he helped Brentford finish 9th on the table, just 2 points away from a place in Europe.
But he was absent for half of the 2023-24 season and Brentford are 16th on the table, just 3 points away from the relegation zone.
Do we even need to say more than this?
If Brentford can manage to convince Toney to stay this January, we’re pretty sure their season will witness a real turnaround now that he’s back from his lengthy ban.
7. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is carrying Argentina, Inter Miami, and the entire MLS on his back right now. We’re surprised he doesn’t have a hunchback already.
This man stepped into the US and completely turned things around. He won Inter Miami’s first trophy ever just a month after his debut and took them to another final not long after.
And we’re talking about a club that was the worst in the MLS before he signed. This is exactly how you uplift a team. Now, even when he’s absent, Inter Miami plays with a certain swagger and confidence which they never had before Messi’s arrival.
Messi became the first footballer to be named Time Athlete of the Year and single-handedly grew the viewership and marketability of Inter Miami and the MLS at large.
His move to the US also opened doors for other global superstars to join like Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez. See, Messi has not only uplifted Inter Miami, he has uplifted the entire MLS.
8. Cristiano Ronaldo
Saudi Arabia opened their doors to Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023, and what was a shocking move at the time quickly became super common to see.
After Ronaldo moved, we started to see more superstars cross over from Europe to Saudi Arabia. Neymar, Benzema Mane, Mahrez, Firmino, Kante, Mendy, Fabinho, Saint-Maximin, Laporte, Mitrovic, the list just continues to expand, all thanks to one man.
Ronaldo helped Al Nassr win the Arab Club Champions Cup for the first time ever and finished 2023 as the highest goalscorer in the world. But on a much larger scale, you can say he has fast-tracked the development of the Saudi Pro League with his move. Now, that’s impact; GOAT level impact!
Are there more players you think uplift their teams right now?
Tell us in the comments.
