By Rune Gjerulff@runegjerulff

Best Bundesliga centre-backs of the 2025/26 season so far

Kicker has ranked the Bundesliga’s best centre-backs so far in the 2025/26 season.
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Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Every six months, Kicker publishes a ranking of the best players in the Bundesliga, as well as the best German players abroad, divided into a number of categories.

The German football magazine has now released its winter rankings, reflecting performances from the first half of the 2025/26 season.

Below are the centre-back rankings.

World Class

None.

 

International class

1. Dayot Upamecano, FC Bayern

2. Nico Schlotterbeck, Borussia Dortmund

3. Jonathan Tah, FC Bayern

4. Jeff Chabot, Stuttgart

5. Waldemar Anton, Borussia Dortmund

6. Matthias Ginter, Freiburg

 

National class

7. Kim Min-jae, FC Bayern

8. Castello Lukeba, RB Leipzig

9. Danilho Doekhi, Union Berlin

10. Luka Vuskovic, Hamburger SV

11. Ramy Bensebaini, Borussia Dortmund

12. Willi Orban, RB Leipzig

13. Amos Pieper, Werder Bremen

14. Finn Jeltsch, Stuttgart

15. Robin Hranac, Hoffenheim

16. Joel Schmied, FC Köln

17. Daniel Elfadli, Hamburger SV

18. Philipp Lienhart, Freiburg

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