Top 10 players at Euro 2016

Among all the individual performances at the European Championship, there were more than a dozen of note by players both marquee and unheralded.

Using a method rich in subjectivity and short on science, here's a look at the 10 best players at Euro 2016:

1. Antoine Griezmann

Two Man of the Match honours and a tournament-leading six goals. Quite the story for a player who took an unconventional path to stardom and was France's best player at Euro 2016. Among seven players to win Man of the Match honours twice. - MC

2. Pepe

Known more as a petty nuisance and a manipulative presence for club and country, Pepe demonstrated over the past four weeks that he's also a world-class centre-back. The 33-year-old established himself as a bulwark in the heart of the Portuguese defence, and snuffed out opportunities before they even came about. He made a tournament-high 19 interceptions (along with Wales' James Chester), overcoming a thigh injury in the process. -AL

3. Mesut Ozil

The tournament's best passer, Mesut Ozil surely would have left France with more than a goal and an assist were it not for the limp efforts of his Die Mannschaft attack mates. The Arsenal playmaker was unplayable against Northern Ireland in what was the one of the quadrennial contest's best individual performances. -MC

4. Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale wasted no time making his mark on Euro 2016, with three goals in Wales' first three games of the tournament. He joined Michel Platini and Thomas Hassler as the only players to score off multiple free-kicks at a European Championship, but he was even more important to the Red Dragons as their emotional leader. His bursting runs down the flank gave defenders a true scare, and he was happy to play from deeper positions as well. -AL

5. Jerome Boateng

Joining Ozil as Germany's other standout player is Bayern Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng. Handed the unenviable task of leading a back-line that resembled a game of musical chairs, Boateng's tourney would have been perfect were it not for the handball against Italy. -MC

6. Aaron Ramsey

While Bale nabbed the headlines, Aaron Ramsey was arguably Wales' best player through five matches. His Man of the Match performance in a 3-0 drubbing of Russia was equal-parts stellar and sublime, and his absence against Portugal displayed just how valuable he is to Chris Coleman's lot. -MC

7. Leonardo Bonucci

Devoid of a defined deep-lying playmaker in the mould of Andrea Pirlo, the Azzurri had to rely on the creativity and strength of Leonardo Bonucci to get through five matches at Euro 2016. The Juventus defender not only kept things calm and composed at the back, but he also supplied helpful long balls that jump-started Italy's attacks. The penalty he scored against Germany - a cool, composed, stutter-stepped finish past Manuel Neuer - also extended Italy's life in the quarter-finals. -AL

8. Cristiano Ronaldo

Euro 2016 wasn't Cristiano Ronaldo's best month of football, but it was historic in more than one sense. He became the first player to score in four consecutive European Championships, tied Platini's scoring mark with nine goals, earned a record third semi-final appearance with his country, and won his first major title with Portugal. He was forced to watch the majority of the final on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury, but he later emerged from the tunnel to motivate his teammates from the touchline. Beyond his contributions on the pitch, Ronaldo showed he's a true leader. -AL

9. Dimitri Payet

Like Griezmann, Dimitri Payet is one of seven players to nab two Man of the Match awards, and like his countryman, preserved France's tournament ambitions with late goals against both Romania and Albania. Not bad for a player who has been on the fringe of the national-team scene before a move to West Ham last summer vaulted the Reunion Island-born dead-ball maestro. Started strong, sputtered over the finish line. -MC

10. Grzegorz Krychowiak

For all the chatter surrounding Polish strike duo Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik, Grzegorz Krychowiak was the White Eagles' best player. The recently signed Paris Saint-Germain deep-lying midfielder was the best player on the pitch against Northern Ireland by some margin. -MC

Honourable mentions: Hugo Lloris (France), Nani (Portugal), Toni Kroos (Germany), Aron Gunnarsson (Iceland), Ivan Perisic (Croatia)