20 Best 'If They Weren't Sold' XIs in European Football
Ever wondered what your favourite team might look like if they hadn't sold their star players? Ever mused about what could have been had your current defensive line been able to combine with the attack you had in 2012?
Well wonder and muse no longer; we here at Bleacher Report have done the work for you. We've selected the best "If they weren't sold" XIs, taking Europe's current top teams and adding in the stars they've sold over the years.
It means Manchester United get Cristiano Ronaldo and Gerard Pique back; Atletico Madrid get the choice of Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa or Jackson Martinez to partner Antoine Griezmann in attack; and Portuguese giants Benfica and FC Porto get back all of the top-class talents they've sold over the years to stay in profit.
The rules are simple: All players are judged on how good they are right now. That means if replacing a player with one who was sold, the current version of that player is considered, not how good they were one, two or five years ago. It also means that if they're currently badly injured (Zlatan Ibrahimovic), they won't feature.
Also please note loan spells at clubs are not considered. That means Toby Alderweireld is not eligible for Southampton, and Radamel Falcao is not eligible for Manchester United.
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20. Southampton
GK: Fraser Forster
DEF: Cedric Soares, Virgil van Dijk, Jose Fonte, Ryan Bertrand
MID: Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama, Adam Lallana
FWD: Gareth Bale, Sadio Mane, Manolo Gabbiadini
19. Arsenal
GK: Petr Cech
DEF: Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Sead Kolasinac
MID: Granit Xhaka, Cesc Fabregas, Mesut Ozil
FWD: Danny Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud
18. Liverpool
GK: Pepe Reina
DEF: Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Matip, Javier Mascherano, James Milner
MID: Emre Can, Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho
FWD: Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Luis Suarez
17. AC Milan
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma
DEF: Matteo De Sciglio, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Thiago Silva, Ricardo Rodriguez
MID: Franck Kessie, Giacomo Bonaventura, Suso
FWD: Carlos Bacca, Andre Silva, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
16. Ajax
GK: Jasper Cillessen
DEF: Gregory van der Wiel, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Daley Blind
MID: Lasse Schone, Christian Eriksen, Hakim Ziyech
FWD: Arek Milik, Kasper Dolberg, Luis Suarez
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15. Paris Saint-Germain
GK: Kevin Trapp
DEF: Serge Aurier, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Layvin Kurzawa
MID: Marco Verratti, Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi
FWD: Angel Di Maria, Edinson Cavani, Julian Draxler
14. FC Porto
GK: Iker Casillas
DEF: Danilo, Felipe, Nicolas Otamendi, Alex Sandro
MID: Danilo Pereira, Hector Herrera, Joao Moutinho
FWD: Hulk, Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez
13. Benfica
GK: Jan Oblak
DEF: Nelson Semedo, Victor Lindelof, David Luiz, Fabio Coentrao
MID: Axel Witsel, Nemanja Matic, Renato Sanches
FWD: Angel Di Maria, Bernardo Silva, Jonas
12. Napoli
GK: Pepe Reina
DEF: Elseid Hysaj, Kalidou Koulibaly, Raul Albiol, Faouzi Ghoulam
MID: Jorginho, Piotr Zielinski, Marek Hamsik
FWD: Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuain, Dries Mertens
11. Tottenham Hotspur
GK: Hugo Lloris
DEF: Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose
MID: Luka Modric, Victor Wanyama, Gareth Bale, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli
FWD: Harry Kane
10. Monaco
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"What if?" XI
GK: Danijel Subasic
DEF: Djibril Sidibe, Kamil Glik, Jemerson, Benjamin Mendy
MID: Fabinho, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva, James Rodriguez
FWD: Radamel Falcao, Kylian Mbappe
There aren't many changes to make for Monaco, mostly because their 2016-17 successes have been the real high point over the last decade or so, meaning the team they have now is, by and large, as strong as its ever been.
Still, the midfield needed a slight makeover: Bernardo Silva comes straight back in having left for Manchester City this summer, while James Rodriguez replaces Thomas Lemar in a decision we assure you was not taken lightly.
9. Manchester United
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"What if?" XI
GK: David De Gea
DEF: Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Gerard Pique, Patrice Evra
MID: Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria
FWD: Javier Hernandez
Di Maria was a failure at Old Trafford, but the beauty of a theoretical XI is it's all on paper. He doesn't actually have to go back to Manchester and rediscover misery; he can stay in lovely Paris, and we can imagine how good he could have been (again).
Opposite him is the revered Ronaldo, making his longed-for return to the Red Devils, and ahead of them both is goal-poacher extraordinaire Chicharito. In defence, Evra replaces Shaw just because Jose Mourinho would probably actually play the Frenchman, and Pique returns after departing for a measly fee to Barcelona back in 2008.
This is a very strong team.
8. Chelsea
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"What if?" XI
GK: Thibaut Courtois
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Filipe Luis
MID: N'Golo Kante, Cesc Fabregas, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard
FWD: Diego Costa, Romelu Lukaku
The way Chelsea cycle through players, mistakes are bound to happen. Lukaku and De Bruyne look like big errors at this point, and there's a string of others who've bounced back, the most notable and recently newsworthy of which is Mohamed Salah.
Filipe Luis was misused by Jose Mourinho and sent back to Atletico Madrid for a cut-price fee after one year. Back at the Calderon, he's re-established himself as one of the best left-backs in the world.
7. Manchester City
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"What if?" XI
GK: Ederson Moraes
DEF: Bacary Sagna, Vincent Kompany, Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov
MID: David Silva, Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva
FWD: Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero
There's one standout name from the history books that Pep Guardiola would absolutely love to call upon for Manchester City, and that's Jerome Boateng. He's developed into one of the world's finest centre-backs since leaving the Etihad Stadium and would improve the team considerably if he were to return.
We had to put a right-back back into the XI after Pep released them all, and we opted for Sagna, who is in better nick than club legend Pablo Zabaleta.
6. Borussia Dortmund
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"What if?" XI
GK: Roman Burki
DEF: Lukasz Piszczek, Mats Hummels, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Marcel Schmelzer
MID: Ousmane Dembele, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Weigl, Marco Reus
FWD: Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Over the last four years, Borussia Dortmund have had the spine of an incredible team removed. You can add Mario Gotze and Henrik Mkhitaryan to Hummels, Gundogan and Lewandowski's departures as well.
Adding the latter three back into this mix would create one hell of a team. Lewandowski and Aubameyang feeding off Gundogan? Reus and Dembele to complement them? Hummels back in the heart of the defence, this time partnered with someone better than Neven Subotic? It's a shame it will never happen.
5. Atletico Madrid
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"What if?" XI
GK: Jan Oblak
DEF: Juanfran, Diego Godin, Toby Alderweireld, Filipe Luis
MID: Yannick Carrasco, Gabi, Koke, Antoine Griezmann
FWD: Radamel Falcao, Sergio Aguero
The list of former Atletico Madrid players who are both excellent and didn't get back into this amended XI is astonishing. We're talking Diego Costa, Miranda, De Gea, Jackson Martinez, Mario Mandzukic, Arda Turan...it's star after star after star.
If you added this fully bloomed version of Alderweireld into this defence, it'd no doubt be the best in the world. It's a little light on midfield creativity, but with Aguero, Falcao and Griezmann around, the chances you do create would no doubt be hoovered up.
4. Juventus
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"What if?" XI
GK: Gianluigi Buffon
DEF: Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Alex Sandro
MID: Miralem Pjanic, Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal
FWD: Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala
Juventus reached their second Champions League final in three years this month but fell short once again to a superior Spanish outfit. Is there anyone they've recently sold that could have made the difference for them?
Probably not, is the answer, but Arturo Vidal is an elite central midfielder and could well have improved things in the engine room. This theoretical XI above is in the shape of a diamond, chopping out Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado and bringing in both Vidal and the legendary Claudio Marchisio.
3. Bayern Munich
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"What if?" XI
GK: Manuel Neuer
DEF: Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, David Alaba
MID: Arturo Vidal, Thiago Alcantara, Toni Kroos
FWD: Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski
As we enter the top three, you'll notice a clear point emerge: Rarely, oh so rarely, do elite sides lose players they do not wish to. That rings true for Bayern Munich in particular, who could only really be improved by one former player.
Toni Kroos left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2014, and while they've done pretty well without him, there's no doubt he'd slot straight back into that central midfield now. With Xabi Alonso retired, there's a hole to fill, but even if he wasn't, Kroos would likely jump in ahead of him.
2. Real Madrid
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"What if?" XI
GK: Keylor Navas
DEF: Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo
MID: Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric
FWD: Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco, Gonzalo Higuain
There's only one change to the current Real Madrid XI, and even then it comes under arguable rather than definite. Gonzalo Higuain (32) scored double the number of goals Karim Benzema (16) managed in 2016-17 and comes in to take the Frenchman's place.
That's not to say Los Blancos should regret selling Higuain back in 2013. They did it to incorporate Benzema fully as the main striker, and stylistically he was the right choice given who the wingers were. Four successive silverware-laden seasons have followed, justifying the choice.
1. Barcelona
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"What if?" XI
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
DEF: Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba
MID: Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantara
FWD: Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez
So it turns out, if you correct Barcelona's two transfer mistakes over the last half-decade, they've got what is arguably the strongest on-paper team in the world right now.
The Blaugrana are currently lacking in central midfield, but had Thiago been able to blossom at Camp Nou rather than the Allianz Arena, that wouldn't be an issue. The right side would be as strong as ever if Alves' hadn't departed, leaving Aleix Vidal and Sergi Roberto to poorly handle the job between them.
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