Top 10 Football Players in The World

Although there is no one correct answer, most of the players on this list have been objectively the best players in the world this past season. However, this list may be controversial in some ways due to constant fluctuations in form and the fact that soccer stopped altogether for a few months in the middle of the season. But what’s ranking without controversy? It’s also important to preface this list with the fact that, while most leagues recommenced after the forced hiatus, the French Ligue 1 did not restart. Therefore, the placement of the two Ligue 1 players on this list is both somewhat subjective and arbitrary and could have been entirely different had those players had the rest of their season to play. Also, due to the stop in play and the fact that there are many players who could be in the conversation for the best players in the world at the moment, the list naturally becomes more subjective towards the bottom. I tried to take into account each player’s current form and overall ability when fit, but there is always going to be an arbitrary nature to ranking when so many players have played so well. But without further ado, here are whom I believe to be the top 10 players in the world right now based on both form and natural ability when fit. Get caught up in time for the World Cup.

1. Lionel Messi                

Lionel Messi, in full Lionel Andrés Messi, also called Leo Messi, (born June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina), Argentine-born football (soccer) player who was named Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) world player of the year six times (2009–12, 2015, and 2019).

Lionel Messi started playing football as a boy and in 1995 joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys (a Rosario-based top-division football club). Messi’s phenomenal skills garnered the attention of prestigious clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. At age 13 Messi and his family relocated to Barcelona, and he began playing for FC Barcelona’s under-14 team. He scored 21 goals in 14 games for the junior team, and he quickly graduated through the higher-level teams until at age 16 he was given his informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly match.

2.Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is a well-known football player who is associated with the sport. He was born into a socially deprived household and began playing football at an early age. At 18, he was chosen for the international football squad. Cristiano Ronaldo has become the most famous footballer in the world in a very short period.
Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Portugal on February 5, 1985, to Jose Dinis Aveiro, who served as a horticulturist in the township. Ronaldo has a brother and two sisters in addition to his parents, and he is the oldest of his siblings. Eva Maria Dos Santos was his mother's name, and she used to cook at other's residences.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., Ronaldo's son, is the youngest of Ronaldo's four children. However, Ronaldo has never revealed the identity of his son's mother. He dated Irina Shayk before 2015. Eventually, they broke up, and then post-2015, he began dating Georgina Rodriguez, who eventually became his fiancée.

3.Neymar

Neymar, in full Neymar da Silva Santos, Jr., (born February 5, 1992, Mogi Das Cruzes, Brazil), Brazilian football (soccer) player who was one of the most prolific scorers in his country's storied football history. Neymar began playing football as a boy in Sao Vicente, under the guidance of his father. This former professional footballer remained a close adviser and mentor throughout his son’s career. Having played street and indoor five-a-side football, Neymar joined Portuguesa Santista’s youth team in São Vicente, and in 2003 he and his family moved to Santos. There Neymar, who was already an impressive player, joined the youth academy of Santos FC (the same club for which Brazilian football legend Pele starred over the majority of his domestic career). At age 14 he had a successful trial with Spain's Real Madrid, and Santos had to increase its spending to retain him.

4.Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski is a professional footballer who belongs from Poland and has managed to leave his mark as a striker for his club Bayern Munich. He also plays for the Polish National Team where he delivers the role of a captain. He is considered arguably one of the world’s best strikers due to his expertise in his area. He is considered to be a master finisher who is known for scoring amazing goals in a much more clinical fashion. He is always unsurprising and brilliant on the field and knows how to maximize any opportunity that is delivered to him.
He is a player in extreme fitness and has a very competitive style. He knows the way to lead his team toward the trophy and proves every now and then why he is the best in the business. He has the ability to decipher the player’s movements and also the gameplay to find his perfect position and wreak havoc. He always plays intelligently and tailors his movements according to the situation and needs of the play.

5.Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappé is a French professional football player, best known for his performance in the 2018 ‘FIFA World Cup.’ Mbappé became the youngest French to score a goal in a ‘World Cup.’ He finished his ‘World Cup’ campaign with four goals for which he was honored with the ‘FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award.’ Former player Arsène Wenger has described him as a ‘huge football talent.’ The media has often compared him with the likes of Thierry Henry and Pelé. Known for his excellent dribbling skills, Mbappé is also famous for his agility, creativity, and acceleration when in possession of the ball. In 2017, Mbappé became the second-most expensive player in the world as he signed a €180 million contract with the French football club ‘Paris Saint-Germain.’

6.Virgil van Dijk

The Dutch defender signed for Liverpool from Southampton in January of 2018 and has since become one of the best Premier League defenders of all time. One of the most important players in an excellent championship-winning side, Virgil van Dijk finished just behind Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings, almost becoming the first defender since Italian center-back Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 to win the award. He did, however, win UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. In the Premier League last season, van Dijk conceded only 22 goals, kept 20 clean sheets, had a 74% tackle success rate, and recorded the second-most number of passes, earning himself the title of Premier League Player of the Year. Liverpool only lost once in the league and ended the season in second with 97 points, one point behind the team that beat them, Manchester City. Liverpool did, however, win the Champions League and have since won the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In all competitions, van Dijk was only dribbled past once the entire season.

This season, van Dijk has led Liverpool to its first Premier League title in 30 years. Although he hasn’t had as incredible a season as last year, he still has the most passes in the Premier League and has helped Liverpool hold the most clean sheets in the league so far. Fortifying and commanding the Liverpool backline, he has certainly been the best defender in the world over the past two seasons and is arguably the most crucial player to Liverpool’s present success.

7.Sadio Mane

Besides the team’s defensive strength, Liverpool has had one of the most threatening attacks in the world in the past few years, and Sadio Mané has been a key reason why. The Senegalese winger has been exceptional for the current English and European champions, recording 16 goals and 9 assists so far this season and winning the Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals in the last alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and teammate Mo Salah.

Despite Mo Salah’s record-breaking goalscoring campaign two seasons ago or Roberto Firmino’s technical superiority over both wingers, Sadio Mané stands out. His pace, finishing, and control are all world-class, and he has scored some incredible goals for Liverpool in the past two seasons, including a brilliant chip against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last year. Mané finished fourth for the 2019 Ballon d’Or and looks to be a challenger for the award.

9.Riyad Mahrez

Similar to Liverpool, it is incredibly difficult to pick out one attacking player in a side with so much talent up front and on the wings. What makes this even more difficult is that Manchester City’s squad depth forces some of the team’s best players to sit on the bench. I knew I had to include at least one Manchester City attacker, however, and between the likes of Bernardo Silva, Sergio Agüero, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and even the injured Leroy Sané, I decided on the former Leicester City player and Algerian international.

Riyad Mahrez has 10 goals and 12 assists in the Premier League this season. While he is actually only the fifth Man City player to reach double digits in goals and assists this season (a Premier League record, by the way), he has only started 60% of City’s matches and was benched for five of them. Mahrez’s control and first touch are absolutely extraordinary, and he would arguably make it into the starting XI of any other team in the world.

10.Erling Haaland

After only one season in the limelight, Erling Haaland is arguably the best teenage soccer player in the world and has quickly become of one the best strikers in the game. Although he is only 19, his numbers are too ridiculous for him to not be one of the best players in the world right now. Haaland started this season with RB Salzburg in Austria, netting 16 goals and managing 6 assists in only 14 league games as well as recording 8 goals and 1 assist in the Champions League group stage. The Norwegian forward then made the switch to Borussia Dortmund midseason and continued his incredible form with 13 goals and 3 assists in 15 Bundesliga matches. In total, Haaland has 44 goals and 10 assists this season in 40 games, and it is these astonishing numbers that bring the youngster into the top 10 right now.

Haaland certainly has a lot of time to improve and will only go on to score more goals and play for bigger clubs, but this season is not simply a breakout year. If he had won any trophies this year, the 19-year-old would indubitably be a Ballon d’Or contender. Despite being knocked out by PSG in the Champions League round of 16, Haaland scored two goals, including a magnificently powerful long-range strike. He and Mbappé, as well as a few other youngsters who were considered for this list, look to be the real deal, and both will likely be near the top of this list in a few years’ time.