Sports Illustrated’s 2025–26 Premier League Team of the Season

“Most of the games I see in the Premier League are not, for me, a joy to watch,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted back in March.

That stance could be explained by the fact that most of the matches Slot has watched this season have seen his Liverpool team flounder. Even if biases are put aside, the Dutch boss is not alone in his dim view of the division’s entertainment value.

While the collective product may not have lived up to the expectations of the soccer world’s pure-hearted aesthetes, some individuals have been able to shine amid such a divisive spectacle.

GK: David Raya (Arsenal)

Appearances: 37
Goals Conceded: 26
Clean Sheets: 19

“Sometimes I think we take some of the things he does as normal,” Mikel Arteta mused on the topic of his goalkeeper earlier this season, “when they’re not.”

It’s not normal to keep a clean sheet in more than half of your Premier League appearances and it certainly isn’t standard to win three consecutive Golden Gloves. It’s not exactly commonplace for the champions’ bravest passer to be the one between the posts either. It is, however, becoming increasingly normal for David Raya.

RB: Michael Kayode (Brentford)

Appearances: 37
Goals: 1
Assists: 1

In a season defined by the unprecedented rise of long throws, how could there not be a spot for Brentford’s human trebuchet? Michael Kayode is so committed to his signature move he and his partner discovered the gender of their baby at a reveal ceremony in February which saw the fullback hurl a throw-in into an empty goal at the Gtech Community Stadium to prompt a burst of pink flares.

Yet, to pigeonhole Kayode as the reincarnation of a one-paced Rory Delap would be unfair. “People think that you can play in the Premier League just because you have a good throw-in?” the Italy U21 international scoffed. “That’s crazy!”

Kayode hasn’t just played in the Premier League, but shone. The nominee for this season’s Best Young Player completed the fourth-most dribbles of anyone in the entire division, ranking above the likes of Rayan Cherki, Bukayo Saka and Florian Wirtz. Whether the ball is at his feet or being dried off with a towel in his hands, Kayode has hauled the over-performing Bees up the pitch.

CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)

Appearances: 31
Goals: 1
Clean Sheets: 16

They say that the best mathematicians are lazy; in a bid to do as little work as possible, they find the most efficient way to solve a problem. That is the approach William Saliba takes while gliding around the pitch.

No extra step is wasted maneuvering his hulking frame with deceptive swiftness along the shortest line of travel to delicately separate the division’s attackers from the ball, slipping his business card into the waistband of their shorts as he strides away.

CB: Gabriel (Arsenal)

Gabriel celebrating. — Gabriel enjoyed lifting the trophy. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Appearances: 32
Goals: 3
Clean Sheets: 17

In a campaign which has inspired widespread existential crises about the aesthetics of the sport, Gabriel has thrived. Considering the bullocking center back’s conception of beauty, it’s little surprise.

“I think beautiful football is not only a beautiful pass,” the Brazilian theorized, “but also when you defend, the way you defend.” By that measure, Gabriel has been a vision this season.

LB: Nico O’Reilly (Man City)

Appearances: 34
Goals: 5
Assists: 3

Across his 18 years of senior management, Pep Guardiola has won and seen pretty much everything. But even the outgoing icon was taken aback by Nico O’Reilly. “He has been a surprise,” Guardiola admitted, “even for me.”

The natural midfielder has played most of the season at left back, locking up some of the division’s most potent forwards before cantering down the flank himself. Yet, O’Reilly has also shown as the deepest point of ballast in the absence of Rodri and even as a box-crashing No. 8, the position he should (theoretically) be most comfortable playing.

Guardiola hasn’t been the only one left in a state of shock and awe by City’s prodigious star.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool)

Dominik Szoboszlai gesturing to Liverpool supporters. — Dominik Szoboszlai has been in outrageous form this season. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Appearances: 36
Goals: 6
Assists: 7

At the end of the 2024–25 campaign, Dominik Szoboszlai admitted: “I need to improve in a lot of things.” The all-action Hungarian emphatically fulfilled his personal challenge, invariably dominating each fixture from any and every position on the pitch with a beguiling blend of muscular force and measured finesse.

Unfortunately, the rest of his Liverpool teammates did not match his upward trajectory.

CM: Casemiro (Man Utd)

Casemiro waving. — Casemiro signed off at Manchester United with a win against Nottingham Forest. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Appearances: 34
Goals: 9
Assists: 2

Manchester United’s fans, the club’s players and even former Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher have fallen over themselves to hail the remarkable turnaround of Casemiro.

Banished to the realm of soccer players whose “legs have gone,” the Brazilian rediscovered a set of limbs which have underpinned United’s rise to third. On top of his supreme defensive coverage, Casemiro also chipped in with a swollen nine Premier League goals, a tally Ryan Giggs never matched for Manchester United after turning 22.

CM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Declan Rice holding the trophy. — Declan Rice always believed it was never done. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Appearances: 36
Goals: 4
Assists: 5

Declan Rice revealed that Mikel Arteta had warned his players their latest title tilt would be a “roller coaster” before the campaign got underway. “There’s going to be ups, downs, so much talk,” the midfielder reflected. Yet, amid the peaks and troughs of Arsenal’s collective form, Rice has remained constant.

The team’s lighthouse, allowing others to shine, has stood tall in the face of adversity, forever barreling from either end of the pitch while repeatedly proving himself to be the best set-piece taker on a team which relies so heavily upon dead-ball deliveries. “The good thing with Declan is he’s so consistent, so reliable,” Arteta acknowledged. “He’s always there.”

AM: Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)

Bruno Fernandes sits on top of a prestigious list. pic.twitter.com/hlwiGabFHx
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) May 24, 2026

Appearances: 35
Goals: 9
Assists: 21

The numbers behind Bruno Fernandes’s season for the ages are staggering. The outright assist record holder created 136 chances for his teammates, 58 more than anyone else in 2025–26 and the second most ever recorded in the competition’s history. The division’s most dextrous player is also United’s most industrious, winning possession back more often than any of his teammates.

Yet, Fernandes is a player who offers so much beyond cold, hard numbers. United’s skipper is the team’s beating heart and bellwether. When Fernandes is on form, there is a chance any of the chaotic iterations of the Red Devils over the years can perform.

ST: Antoine Semenyo (Man City)

Appearances: 37
Goals: 17
Assists: 4

Antoine Semenyo has enjoyed one standout season worthy of two players. After spending the first six months of the campaign singlehandedly carrying Bournemouth’s frontline, the two-footed forward got his big money move to Manchester City.

Rather than a little fish being dwarfed by the big pond of the Etihad, Semenyo simply grew to dominate his new surroundings. Since the 26-year-old’s City debut in January, no player at the club—not even his Nordic, goal-gobbling teammate—could match his tally of non-penalty Premier League goals (seven).

ST: Erling Haaland (Man City)

Appearances: 35
Goals: 27
Assists: 8

Brilliance can be all too easily normalized in soccer. That Erling Haaland’s inclusion in this XI is even a debate shows how his ridiculous scoring record has warped the world’s perception of his performance. Manchester City’s No. 9 claimed his third Golden Boot with 27 goals. Twenty-seven. Taking out penalties, he’s still on 26 which is eight more than anyone else in the division.

To put his figures into even sharper focus, Haaland’s down year is still better than the most prolific season in Sergio Agüero’s entire Premier League career (26 goals in 2014–15).

Sports Illustrated’s Team of the Season (2025–26)

SI’s team of the season. — The Premier League’s standout players from a campaign which sparked plenty of debate. | FotMob

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