The most-bought player in a Gameweek this season, Kevin De Bruyne (£10.7m) produced seven points for his 1.7million new owners in Fantasy Premier League.
The Belgian provided the assist for Manchester City's second goal in their 3-1 win over Burnley and earned a share of the bonus points as a result.
Managers flocked to De Bruyne for Gameweek 22 after he demonstrated his potential for explosive hauls in Gameweek 21, notching 12 points during a 21-minute appearance at Newcastle United.
And, while he didn't manage a double-figure haul on this occasion, his legion of new Fantasy bosses have his upcoming "Double" in Gameweek 25 to look forward to. Man City play twice in that round with home matches against Chelsea and Brentford.
Most-bought players in a Gameweek
| Player | Transferred in by | Gameweek | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronaldo | 2.21m | GW4 in 2021/22 | 13 |
| Son | 1.99m | GW5 in 2020/21 | 13 |
| De Bruyne | 1.71m | GW22 in 2023/24 | 7 |
Not only were his 1.7m transfers a high for the season, it was also the third-highest Gameweek total on record.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Son Heung-min (£9.7m) both produced 13-point returns when they were bought en masse.
Ronaldo scored twice at home against Newcastle United in Gameweek 4 of the 2021/22 season, while Son registered a goal and an assist in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-3 draw with West Ham United in Gameweek 5 of 2020/21.
But what marked De Bruyne out compared with his rivals is that of the 10.1m transfers made ahead of the Gameweek 22 deadline, a staggering 16.9 per cent were used to recruit him.
This far exceeded the 7.6 per cent and 11.8 per cent for Ronaldo and Son in their respective Gameweeks.
Indeed, no player has received a greater share of the transfers since records were kept.
GW22 most-bought players
| Player | Transferred in by (000's) | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| De Bruyne | 1,709 | 7 |
| Jota | 459 | 8 |
| Haaland | 435 | 1 |
The second most-bought player of the round, Diogo Jota (£7.9m) extended his scintillating run of form with a goal in Liverpool's 4-1 win over Cheslea.
Jota has racked up seven attacking returns in his last four matches, amassing 40 points in that time thanks to four goals, three assists and three bonus points.
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) completed the top three recruits having been snapped up by over 435,000 people.
The Norwegian made his first appearance since Gameweek 15 after coming on in the second half, but he could only muster a single point as he was unable to score or assist.
GW22 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by (000's) | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 3,134 | 1 |
| De Bruyne | 1,626 | 7 |
| Saka | 688 | 10 |
| Alvarez | 629 | 13 |
| Watkins | 626 | 7 |
Julian Alvarez (£7.0m) fared best out of the Man City contingent after keeping his place in Pep Guardiola's starting XI.
Alvarez, who turned 24 on Wednesday, celebrated his birthday in style at the Etihad Stadium scoring two goals and claiming the maximum three bonus points.
There will be concerns that he could see his playing time curtailed following Haaland and De Bruyne's return to fitness. However all three started in opening match of the season, the last time they were all available for selection.
The two non-Man City players among the top five captains, Bukayo Saka (£9.1m) and Ollie Watkins (£8.8m), put their indifferent form behind them as they rewarded the combined 1.3m who handed them the armband.
Saka scored just his second goal in eight Premier League appearances and collected the maximum three bonus points in Arsenal's win 2-1 at Nottingham forest. His 10-point return was his first double-figure haul since Gameweek 6.
Watkins, meanwhile, netted his first goal in five home matches as Aston Villa lost 3-1 to Newcastle United.
Despite enduring a tricky run of late at Villa Park, Watkins has racked up 13 attacking returns in home matches over the season, a tally equalled by only Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) among all players.
Top 100 managers' GW22 captains
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Foden | 24 | 6 |
| De Bruyne | 24 | 7 |
| Saka | 10 | 10 |
| Jota | 9 | 8 |
| Richarlison | 9 | 7 |
In the race to be crowned FPL champion, the leading 100 Fantasy managers split their captaincy choices among 17 different players.
The most-popular picks were De Bruyne and his team-mate Phil Foden (£8.0m), who were each been backed by 24 members of this elite group.
Foden supplied the assist for Man City's third goal, which means he's delivered a return in seven of his nine starts at home this season.
Among the plethora of alternatives, Richarlison (£7.0m) was captained by nine of the top 100 managers, including the new overnight leader, Cedric L from Vietnam.
Richarlison scored as Spurs overcame Brentford 3-2 for his seventh goal in seven Gameweeks. The out-of-position midfielder has taken 18 shots in the box over that period, placing joint-fifth among all players in Fantasy.
Elsewhere, a total of 32,537 managers played their Triple Captain chip in Gameweek 22, and two of those used it on Fabian Schar (£5.2m), earning a massive 51 points from the Newcastle defender alone after his two goals against Villa.
Also in this series
Part 1: Gameweek 22 bonus points
