Best defensive midfielders in the Bundesliga of the 2024/25 season so far

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 recently released the first part of its winter rankings based on performances in the first half of the 2024/25 season.

Below you'll find the defensive midfielder rankings.

World Class

None.

International class

1. Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich 

2. Granit Xhaka, Bayer Leverkusen 

3. Exequiel Palacios, Bayer Leverkusen 

4. Robert Andrich, Bayer Leverkusen 

5. Angelo Stiller, Stuttgart 

National class

6. Aleksandar Pavlovic, Bayern Munich 

7. Nadiem Amiri, Mainz 

8. Jens Stage, Werder Bremen 

9. Hugo Larsson, Eintracht Frankfurt 

10. Rocco Reitz, Gladbach 

11. Aleix Garcia, Bayer Leverkusen 

12. Maximilian Arnold, Wolfsburg 

13. Felix Nmecha, Borussia Dortmund

14. Tom Bischof, Hoffenheim