THE BEST XI OF EVERY ERA

1990s: the founding elite

Shearer (94) leads the line with Schmeichel (93) behind — a spine of proven winners. The 90s pool rewards drafting defenders early: its centre-half depth is strong, but the midfield band thins out fast below the top three.

2000s: the golden generation

The strongest era in the database, and it isn't close: Ronaldo's 99 and Henry's 97 sit here, with Gerrard (94) running midfield. A pure-2000s XI has the highest achievable average of any era lock — if you get the spins.

2010s: peak systems football

Salah and De Bruyne (both 94) headline an era defined by elite attacking midfielders and full-backs. The 2010s pool is the deepest overall — fewer 95+ peaks than the 2000s, but the strongest 8th-to-11th man you can draft.

2020s: the new order

Haaland's 95 is the modern ceiling, with Rodri (93) and Ruben Dias (91) reflecting how the current era values controllers and ball-playing defenders. Still growing as seasons are added.

Which era should you lock?

For raw ceiling, the 2000s. For consistency across all eleven slots, the 2010s. The 90s is the connoisseur's pick — harder, but its defenders make chemistry links easier to stack because its stars cluster at fewer clubs. Era-locked weeks in the weekly events rotation force you to learn all four; this page is the map.

These XIs are the mathematical bests. Whether they would beat your picks is exactly the argument the game exists to settle.

How the four compare

Averaging each best XI puts numbers on the folklore: the 2000s lead, the 2010s run them close on depth, and the gap from top era to bottom is only a couple of points — by design, so every era lock is competitive. Remember these are ceilings; a real draft's skill is how close you land to them with the spins you actually get, and chemistry can be worth more than the era gap itself.