The Spanish La Liga has been incredibly exciting this year. There are fights across the board, for the title, top four and Champions League football, and for other European football spots. With an exciting season come incredible feats by players, and there has been no shortage of these during the season. All top teams have at least one contender for the coveted La Liga Player of the Year award. Now that Lionel Messi is not here, it seems like there is a much bigger fight for that award. Without further ado, we present you with our picks for three players who could win La Liga Player of the Year for 2021-22.
La Liga POTY contenders for the 2021-22 season
Sergio Busquets
While he is a long shot to win it, because of many factors, Barcelona's Sergio Busquets needs to be in this conversation. The Catalans truly had a topsy-turvy season, from a poor start under Ronald Koeman, which saw them occupy the ninth position in the table for a while, to the highest of highs under Xavi, who got them to the third place where they are currently. One player that did not fluctuate during the season is veteran Busquets. He has been great for the Catalans this year, playing 27 out of their 28 games this year. It is entirely true that he has had some poor moments, but the thing with Busquets is that he will have a mistake but never lose the confidence he has in his abilities, allowing him to be a consistent player. He is truly a Barcelona and a La Liga legend at this point.
Now, due to his position on the field and the inconsistency of his team, Busquets might not get the recognition he deserves at the end of the day. Defensive midfielders, even ones as skilled and almost poetic in their play as Busquets, do not get the respect they really should be getting. However, if La Liga wants to reward one player from this Barcelona, it is Busquets whose form never fluctuated with the results of his team. Even during the abysmal Koeman days, Busquets always remained stable and consistent, and even when Koeman was there, it was never the midfield's fault Barca was not getting the results they sought. Another contender from Barcelona could be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but he arrived in January, while Busquets was there for the entire year.
Jules Kounde
The young French center back from Sevilla is projected to be one of the best in his position in the future – and rightfully so. Kounde has been absolutely amazing for a Sevilla team that prides itself in their defense, which conceded just 19 goals this season. Some of that is down to goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, the Moroccan shot-stopper that kept 12 clean sheets in 23 matches, four clean sheets behind Alex Remiro, the goalkeeper from Real Sociedad. However, he could not be so safe in goal if it was not for Kounde, who is the prototype of the modern center back. That is why he has drawn a ton of interest from European clubs. from Chelsea to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
In 23 matches played this year, Kounde-led Sevilla defense conceded a goal in just 10, with Kounde having 13 clean sheets to his name. According to Footy Stats, he also concedes 0.65 goals per 90 minutes, or a goal every 138 minutes on the field, which is truly amazing. It is tough to see how this Sevilla defense will look after he inevitably leaves in the summer, but for now, they should enjoy his presence and it was mostly his presence, together with Bounou, that kept Sevilla afloat in the La Liga race until this moment. Kounde and his La Liga Player of the Year candidacy will likely suffer due to Sevilla slowing down, but it was mostly due to a halt in goals scored, that the Andalusians slowed down. The defense is still as stable as ever, and Kounde should be thanked for that.
Karim Benzema
Real Madrid, not only because they are league leaders, have a ton of candidates for this award. Vinicius Jr has shut down critics of his finishing by netting 14 goals in 27 games played this season, Thibaut Courtois has 12 clean sheets in 29 games and saved Real Madrid on numerous occasions with his incredible reflexes. However, this year is the year of Karim Benzema. The French striker has dominated La Liga this year and there is no metric that can tell you otherwise. In terms of pure numbers, Benzema leads the league in scoring, netting an incredible 22 goals in just 25 appearances. He is also the leader in assists, with 11 in the 25 games he played.
Apart from the pure numbers, however, it is just the way that he has been able to carry this Real Madrid team to the current nine-point lead they have in the La Liga title race. He has been everywhere on the field, linking up play between the midfield and the attack, but also finishing on the chances created by himself and his teammates. He has also been largely avoiding injuries, missing just four of the 29 games his team played. That factor sometimes gets overlooked, but consistency and being available for your team really matters in these award races. While all other candidates are good, Karim Benzema should be winning this award without much struggle.
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