Euro 2016: England workhorse James Milner ranked higher than Gareth Bale according to Uefa player guide for tournament
Liverpool midfielder is fifth best player in Europe, according to governing body — higher than the Champions League winner
ENGLAND fans worrying about a lack of world-class talent can finally sleep easily — James Milner is officially the fifth best player in Europe.
Euro 2016 organisers Uefa have put together a top 100, with the Liverpool star comfortably beating 12th-ranked Gareth Bale.
Beaten Atletico Madrid striker, Antoine Griezmann comes third just ahead of France team-mate Dimitri Payet and Milner.
Bale is the next highest British star, with Dele Alli coming in 15th and Harry Kane following on 24th.
The Welshman lifted his second Champions League title with real this season as Milner was beaten in the Europa League showpiece.
Axed playmaker Danny Drinkwater is the eighth Englishman in the list despite not featuring in the squad, while Marcus Rashford creeps into the top 100 at 93 — four places ahead of Wayne Rooney.
Uefa said: “The barometer runs official player statistics through a specially designed algorithm to create rankings based on player performances.
“The data considered for each player is specific to the position type.
“For example, tackles and interceptions are considered to be key statistics for defensive midfielders, while successful dribbles and crosses are core stats for wingers.”
France get the tournament underway as they face Romania on June 10. Wales meet Slovakia a day later and England play Russia later that night.