• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Ruben Dias has been voted the best defender in the world by fellow pros

Home> Football

Updated 07:52 27 Jun 2023 GMT+1Published 07:48 27 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Ruben Dias has been voted the best defender in the world by fellow pros

Ruben Dias emerged victorious in a poll voted in by current players, beating the likes of Virgil van Dijk and David Alaba.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Manchester City's Ruben Dias has been voted the best defender in the world by a number of fellow professionals.

The Portugal centre-back played an integral part in City's historic treble triumph, a feat that was completed by a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul to secure a first ever Champions League trophy for the Blues.

Almost a throwback defender in the vein of John Terry and Nemanja Vidic, Dias was imperious at the heart of City's backline and demonstrated impressive leadership qualities throughout his 43 appearances in all competitions.

Advert

The former Benfica man has been praised by many former defenders for his consistent performances and he also has plenty of admirers within the game.

Every year, 252 players plying their trade in the Bundesliga take part in polls in a number of multiple categories.

Some relate to the league and others football in general - with one being who the best defender in the world is today.

And as per Kicker, Dias was the victor by an absolute landslide. 31.2% either voted for "other" or decided not to partake at all, but the three-time Premier League winner accrued 24.2% of votes.

Image: Alamy
Image: Alamy

Real Madrid defender David Alaba, formerly of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, was second with 9.9% - just ahead of teammate Antonio Rudiger (7.9%) and Virgil van Dijk (6%).

More City presence comes in the form of both England pair John Stones (5.2%) and Kyle Walker (4%) - who are only separated by rumoured top defensive target Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig.

The Croatian centre-back has been voted the best defender in the Bundesliga, beating Bayern's Matthijs De Ligt (3.6%).

Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt forward Kolo Muani got the nod for player of the season but Sadio Mane was brutally voted as the biggest flop of the season.

The former Liverpool man had a disappointing first campaign at the Allianz Arena and received a whopping 41.7% of the votes.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Ruben Dias, Manchester City, Premier League, Bundesliga

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

X

@joshlawless_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Ruben Dias THREW UP in Jack Grealish's mum's handbag during Man City celebrations
  • Ruben Dias becomes Cristiano Ronaldo's personal bodyguard as he intercepts pitch invader
  • Ruben Dias has been rinsed by Manchester City teammates for Instagram post, Jack Grealish went in
  • Sadio Mane voted worst outfield player in Bundesliga by more than 250 fellow professionals

Choose your content:

19 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Getty
    19 mins ago

    Rodri's neighbours call police on Man City star after incident that 'invaded their privacy'

    Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been the subject of complaints from his neighbours in the city centre flats.

    Football
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    Donald Trump issues statement as Iran women’s football team 'face death penalty'

    Donald Trump has called for immediate action after Iran were knocked out of the Asian Cup.

    Football
  • Getty
    2 hours ago

    Former Man City player hit with lifetime ban after involvement in match-fixing scandal

    The former Manchester City player is one of two stars to be handed a lifetime ban after a betting scandal in the MLS.

    Football
  • Getty Images
    2 hours ago

    What happened to the 10 highest-paid players in Chinese Super League history

    Carlos Tevez, Marouane Fellaini and Ezequiel Lavezzi feature on the list.

    Football