Top 10 Biggest Footballers Left Out Of The Euro Squads

This years UEFA European Championship will see the best players in Europe facing off against each other, and Jack Wilshere. But not every superstar has even made it on the plane to France. So here are the 10 biggest European footballers who will be missing out this summer.

1. Marco Reus

Metro

Germany have have not been as impressive as the side we saw at the World Cup, losing 3 of their last 4 games. They even lost against England. I know, they're that bad. The omission of Marco Reus could be a big blow as he has been tearing up the Bundesliga for years with Borussia Dortmund. Non-specific injury problems have been cited by manager Joachim Low who to be fair isn't exactly struggling for attacking midfielders. Reus also had sit out Germany's World Cup win due to injury.

2. Juan Mata

talksport

Mata seems to be one of the unluckiest players in the world. Despite being incredibly talented, and seemingly being a decent guy, he somehow repeatedly finds himself out of favour with managers . Mourinho cut him adrift at Chelsea, Van Gaal stuck him out of positon at Man Utd, and now Mourinho is managing him again next season. Spain boss Vicente del Bosque seems has a similar dispostion against him, leaving him out of the squad despite the fact he has played in Spain's last 6 internationals.

3. Diego Costa

The Bleacher Report

Ok, everybody hates Diego Costa. He is an overly aggressive and unsportsmanlike player, with a bad habit of getting up in players faces and swinging elbows where elbows shouldn't be swung. But be honest, a little part of you is sad that we won't be seeing the raging bull at the Euros stirring up controversy and antagonising refs. He is a pantomime villain, the Ramsay Bolton of football. Every great story needs a great villain.

4. Fernando Torres

The Sports Mash

The final of a trilogy of controversial Spanish omissions is the scorer of the winning goal in Euro 2008. It's fare to say since that day Torres has gone through a rocky few years, including his disastrous spell at Chelsea. But since returning to his old stomping ground of Athletico Madrid, Torres has improved, helping the team reach the Champions League Final. However he is still not at the same level he was in 2008, and del Bosque clearly feels Torres' best years are behind him.

5. Alexandre Lacazette

Reuters

Despite an incredible scoring record for Lyon, Lacazette has only ever made 10 appearances for the French senior team and is firmly behind Anthony Martial and Olivier Giroud (!) in the pecking order up front. Once again this proves how FIFA is not like real life, as many people in Didier Dechamps position would pick him to exploit his pace.

6. Karim Benzema

Sky Sports

Another French forward that has been exiled from the France due to more..*awkward cough*...personal matters. Benzema was dropped from the French team after a series of legal issues relating to an alleged blackmailing of fellow international Mathieu Valbuena. Despite continuing to play for his club Real Madrid, it was announced in April that Benzema would not be playing at the Euros.

7. Vincent Kompany

Sky Sports

Kompany has been ravaged by injury all season, who knows where Man City would have finished in the league if they had managed to keep him fit. This is double bad news for Belgium who also have had their other first choice centre-back Nicolas Lombaerts pull out through injury. Luckily for them though they still have Toby Alderweield and Jan Vertoghen to fill in, arguably the best centre-back pairing in the Premier League last season. However while he may not playing in France this summer, he will be appearing as a pundit for the BBC's Euro coverage.

8. Mario Balotelli

Mirror

It's fair to say that Mario has not been having the best time of late. After last seasons ill-fated move to Merseyside, he has not exactly lit the Serie A alight during his loan at Milan. In fact over the past 2 seasons combined he has only managed to score 2 league goals. It would be very difficult to justify his inclusion in the squad to say the least. Why always me, eh?

9. Andrea Pirlo

Telegraph

International tournaments just won't be the same without the sight of Pirlo and his majestic locks pulling the strings in Italy's midfield like an exotic puppeteer. His omission from the squad has been a controversial one. Italy boss, and soon to be Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte blaming Pirlo's move to the MLS as the reason for his absence.

10. The whole of the Netherlands team

ESPNFC

When it was announced that the 2016 Euros would have an extra 8 teams competing, many complained that it would mean qualification would be too easy and let a load of rubbish teams into the finals. That argument seems somewhat redundant now that the likes of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Memphis Depay have seen their country finish a humiliating 4th in a group topped by minnows Iceland.