9. Wendie Renard
8th, 9th, 8th and now 9th again, remarkable consistency from Renard who is once again the highest ranked centre-back in the top 100. When you captain the top club in Europe, one of the top nations and win as much as Renard does, it’s hard to argue against quality. Her towering stature and aerial ability also makes her a goal threat, finding the net eight times for Lyon last season and three already this season domestically. She led the team to another Champions League title and remarkably has a hat-trick in the competition already this season against Ryazan in the first round. Her World Cup started in the perfect fashion as Renard remarkably became the team’s go to scorer during the tournament, finding the net three times in the group stage, again against USA in the quarter-finals, a bizarre own goal vs Norway the only blot on her copybook. Overall, it was another stellar year for someone who is well asserted as one of the best defenders in the world
Jess Fishlock, former Lyon player:
“Her and Griedge are a really formidable partnership. It was always nice to play in front of someone like Wendy and when you play in a team as expansive as Lyon you have to have defenders comfortable in isolation. Wendy is such a goal threat too and she reads the game well. She can come out and press, she can drop deep and protect the space and I never understood how having such a good partnership didn’t really translate to France.”
| ⇐ 10. Eugenie Le Sommer | 8. Pernille Harder ⇒ |
The Offside Rule 