1. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur)

Easily my favorite player of the last five years or so. I like him for a similar reason to why 15-year-old girls love Justin Bieber so much: I feel like I found him first. I have been following Christian's career since he was a young prodigy at Ajax. Almost 22 years old now, he plays for a team I don't like too much... but I forgive him. He is trying to make a name for himself at a more big-name club, and with the way he has played this season (especially when he singlehandedly beat Manchester United), I'm sure he will find himself at a United or a Madrid team soon enough. I'm rooting for him every step of the way, and continue to wear my Ajax jersey with pride.

2. Park Ji-Sung (PSV Eindhoven)

My favorite player of all time. I love Park Ji-Sung singularly more than I love Manchester United as a club, because Park exemplifies and expands upon everything I love about Manchester United. He has never been a world-class player in terms of pure technical ability, just as United is never the most technically gifted or pass-first team, but there is no team in the world that he would not make better from the moment he steps onto the pitch. All he does every game is run his legs ragged, provide constant energy, and annoy opposing defences. Also, having seen plenty of videos of him on YouTube and the like, I have seen what a classy professional he is. Park is definitely everything I love about soccer, even if he is no longer on Manchester United.

3. Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke)

For lack of a better term, Prince has 'swag.' He is an attacking midfielder with fantastic vision to see a pass, and the leg strength to place that pass perfectly, no matter the distance. It says a lot about how awesome he is that I still love him even after he helped Ghana knock the United States out of the World Cup in 2010. My love for him is my hardest to explain out of all five of these players, but it's undeniable. He's just a monster, in every positive sense of that word.

4. Alexander Büttner (Manchester United)

This love started out as a long-distance one. So long distance, in fact, that we weren't even both in the same dimension. I first started using Alex in FIFA whenever Patrice Evra was frustrating me, and I haven't looked back since then. With blinding pace and above average strength, I convert all of my friends into fans of him as soon as I play them in FIFA a few times. "Oh my god, Büttner" or "God damn it Büttner, stop!" every time he comes out of nowhere to win United the ball back. I just hope that he gets the playing time he virtually deserves, but in real life.

5. Stevan Jovetić (Manchester City)

I really respect players that I think have to carry their teams, and nobody carries two separate teams more than Stevan. Not so much anymore now that he sold his soul to Manchester City, but in his Fiorentina days, he was essentially the entire squad condensed into one player. His incredible dribbling and immaculate finishing abilities have always enormously impressed me. And let's not forget that he also carries the Montenegro national team. And is a beast in FIFA.

If you've read this long into the post, just know that I love you personally and am very thankful for your patronage. 

Thanks for reading!