Football as a game has evolved a lot from its inception – whether it be the advancement of technicalities in the game, increase in the pace of the overall game, hi-tech stadiums, a wide range of discussion of each and every minute aspect in a game or the worldwide craze over a match it has come along. But at its core, it remains the same for the fans – the love for their favorite club remains the same and unhindered.
We have tried to create a list of the top 11 players in the world at the current moment considering a lot of factors like impact, popularity, success and most importantly the quality of play. It must be noted that this is a mere attempt to create a comprehensive and obviously good suggestion from the readers will be appreciated.
Goalkeeper and Defenders – Best Football Players In The World:
GK : Alisson ( Brazil/ Liverpool)
Allison Becker is the current goalkeeper of Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazilian National Team. A recipient of the inaugural Yashin trophy and the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award in 2019 he is regarded by many pundits as the best in the world. Allison won the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with Liverpool in 2019 as well as the COPA AMERICA with Brazil.
The Brazilian is among the top football players for his national side and for his club side in their success to Copa America and Champions league competition.
Known for his fantastic saves and flexibility, Alisson is brilliant in the distribution of the ball. He was brought to Liverpool by Jurgen Klopp to ensure that his accurate long-range passes can create a major impact, he will be one of the top footballers of all time for Liverpool.
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CB : Virgil Van Dijk ( Netherlands/ Liverpool)
Undoubtedly the best center back in the world at the moment Van Dijk is a player nobody can argue about. Brought into a Liverpool from Premier League club Southampton FC at a record-breaking fee it won’t be wrong to say that Liverpool got more than their money.
A rock-solid player with defensive prowess and awareness of the highest quality he is quickly being considered as one of the best to grace the Premier League. A major pillar in the Champions League-winning Liverpool squad (2019), Van Dijk has a great knack for scoring goals and is a huge threat for opposition teams in set pieces.
2019 was a huge success as he was named the PFA Player of The Year, UEFA Defender of the Season, Premier League Player of the Season and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year. He was also named in the UEFA Team of the Year.
because of his scintillating performance with Liverpool last season he was into contention for the FIFA player of the year award.
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CB : Varane ( France / Real Madrid)
A four-time CHAMPIONS LEAGUE winner with Spanish giants Real Madrid (2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18), Raphael Varane is one of the best center backs who represent France on the international stage. He was instrumental in the recent success of the French National Team wherein they lifted the World Cup in Russia, and he is one of the top football players in the world.
He is widely praised for his immense pace and strength and compared to Real Madrid legend Hierro. Portuguese and former Madrid manager Jose Mourinho regards as one of the best in the world, and the Frenchman is one of the most popular football player in Spain.
Varane was named in the UEFA TEAM OF THE YEAR (2018), FIFA FIFpro World 11 (2018) along with the FIFA WORLD DREAM TEAM (2018) for his contributions.
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Midfielders – Best Football Players In The World:
CAM : Kevin De Bruyne ( Belgium/ Manchester City)
Probably one of the most gifted players of this generation, Kevin De Bruyne is at the peak of his game at the moment. He is the glue that keeps the Manchester City team together and is of utmost importance to Pep Guardiola. Winning the Premier League in consecutive years 2017/18 and 2018/19 De Bruyne.
Currently the Belgium international is among the top football players for Manchester City and the best midfielder in the English premier league, and also he is the most beautiful football player to witness in the field.
De Bruyne is praised for his passing accuracy and is a deadly set-piece taker – he was awarded the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award in 2018. He is mostly employed as a central attacking midfielder but has also played as a box to box player.
De Bruyne was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2017 and 2019 and also in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2018.
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LW : Sadio Mane ( Senegal/ Liverpool)
The 2019 African Footballer of the Year is next on our list – Sadio Mane is a Senegalese player who plays as a winger for English club Liverpool. A Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2019, Mane is considered one of the best for his pace and physicality. A natural goal scorer he was the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot for the 2018/19 season.
He is one of the rising players in the world football schematic and is making rapid strides with being named in the UEFA Team of the Year 2019. He was also named in the PFA Team of the year in 2016/17 and 2018/19, just like his team mate Van Dijk, the Senegalese international was also in the contention for the FIFA world player of the year award last season, and in the recent time, he is the best footballer for the Liverpool side.
Mane had a very successful 2019 having won the FIFA Club World Cup and being runners in the CAF tournament.
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LW : Neymar ( Brazil/ Paris Saint Germain)
Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior or simply Neymar is a winger who plays for French club PSG and the Brazilian National Team. Regarded as the best player in the world after Ronaldo and Messi he is a true sensation of the current generation. Athleticism, sublime dribbling skills, accurate and precise range of passing and critical goal scoring he is truly a gifted footballer.
Neymar came to the forefront in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup where he was with Brazilian Club Santos and was noticed by Barcelona scouts. He was brought in to Spain where he partnered Messi and Suarez to form one of the most deadliest front 3 in footballing history also known as MSN. He was a huge success in Barcelona having won the Champions League in 2014/15 and La Liga in 2015 and 2016. He then transferred to French giants Paris Saint Germain for a world record fee of 222 Million Euros ($245 Million) making him the most expensive transfer of all time. He was the Ligue1 Player of the Year in his debut season with the club (2017/18). when he joined the French capital side he becomes the highest paid player in the world, and also comes in the list of top paid footballers list.
Neymar has had tremendous success with the Brazilian National Team as well having won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and an Olympic Gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, he is one of the top football players whom people admirer after the legendary Messi and Ronaldo in the football fraternity, and many think that he will make it to the greatest of all time in footballers list.
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Attackers – Best Football Players In The World:
Forward : Lewandowski ( Poland/ Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski is a Polish footballer who plays for German club Bayern Munich. He is a lethal goalscorer and a naturally gifted striker with impressive physique and ability, so far he is the best strikers ever in the Bayern Munich history.
Lewandowski’s goalscoring hunger is of great importance to Bayern Munich – since joining Munich from rivals Borussia Dortmund he has scored an amazing 149 goals in 178 appearances.
He was the Bundesliga Top Scorer for the years 2014(20 goals), 2016( 30 goals), 2018( 29 goals) and 2019(22 goals).
He was named in the UEFA Team of the Year 2019 UEFA champions league squad of the Season 2016/17 and 2015/16.
Lewandowski is known to have broken many records but the most known one is Scoring The most goals in Bundesliga as a substitute (5 goals in an astonishing 9 minutes), the Polish striker is one of the top football players in the Bundesliga.
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Forward : Aguero ( Argentina/ Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero often known as Kun Aguero plays as a center forward for the Argentine National Team and Manchester City. Considered to be among the greatest players of his generation he is a Manchester City legend having scored 180 goals in as less as 257 appearances.
“ Sergio is a photocopy of Romário, they are the same player.”
— Roberto Mancini.
These are the words of former City coach Mancini. Aguero is often compared to Brazilian striker Romario for stocky build and incredible strength.
Aguero has won the Premier 4 times with City 2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18 and most recently In 2019, he has the pedigree in him and the striker instinct which is required for a striker to score goals, and with his spell bounding stats for Manchester City and Argentina he is one of the best strikers in the world right now, he also made a couple of times in the FIFA best player award list.
Aguero was also a part of the Argentine squad which came second to Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup but has won the U-20 World Cup with his national team in 2007.
Aguero is one of the best strikers of all time in the history of Premier League, and also among the top paid football players in the history of Manchester City.
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Forward : Mbappe ( France / Paris Saint Germain)
Kylian Mbappe is a French forward who plays for Paris Saint Germain and is a current sensation, and also one of the best young players in the world.
He is one of the quickest players at the moment and is known for finding space behind the defensive line and making runs. His strength lies in explosive acceleration and pace and ability to keep the ball close to his feet while dribbling. He is a clinical finisher leading him to win the Ligue1 Highest Goalscorer in 2018/19.
Mbappe has been compared to France legend Thierry Henry by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who suggests that Mbappe is one of the best talents of the world. Mbappe is an extremely versatile player who can be played on either wing and also a center forward for his intelligent thinking.
Mbappe was a huge success in Monaco having won the Ligue1 in 2016/17 before making the shift to PSG. He has won the Ligue1 Young Player of the Season in 2017, 2018 and 2019; Golden Boy award in 2017 and FIFA World Cup Best Young Player in 2018.
He is already a World Cup winner with France (2018) and will be looking to become the best player in the world, and in the next-gen footballers, he has the potential to win the FIFA men’s best player award.
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Forward : Ronaldo (Portugal/ Juventus)
Cristiano Ronaldo or CR7. These two words describe one of the greatest players to have ever played the game of football. The Portuguese legend who has created numerous memories for football fans all over the world is one of the most successful in history –a serial winner he has achieved success in whichever team he has played for.
A former Manchester United he excelled under Sir Alex Ferguson to evolve into an absolute beast – pace, dribbling, athleticism, fitness, shot power all come under Ronaldo’s talent. He won the Premier League in 2007, 2008 and 2009 with United and also won his first UEFA champions league in 2007/08.
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Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Spanish side Real Madrid wherein he would create a legacy that will probably never be broken –292 appearances and 311 goals. He won the La Liga in 2012 and 2017 respectively and went on to win 4 Champions League titles (2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18). He is one of the most decorated players in the Los Blancos history whose contributions will never be forgotten.
Just like Messi the Portuguese superstar is another exciting player to watch in this modern generation game, and he has also bagged trophies like FIFA best player, FIFA player of the year and Best footballer in the world awards, and he has decorated his cabinet with many Fifa awards to his name with his performance, in the world he among the most famous football players
Ronaldo is of utmost importance to the Portuguese national side with whom he won the UEFA Euro in 2016, France and the very recent UEFA Nations League defeating Netherlands. He moved to Italy and joined Juventus with whom he has already won the Seria A.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the best football player in the world 2018, and in the year of 2019, he came second to his rival Messi.
Ronaldo has won a majestic Five BallonD’ors and 4 European Golden Shoes. His list of achievements is phenomenal and he has been named in all the FIFA FIFpro World 11 starting in 2007 up until 2019! It is just one of the astonishing facts about this superhuman player, and also considered as best footballer of all time.
Forward : Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona)
Lionel Andres Messi Cuccitinni. The little magician,right now he is the World No.1 football player.
“The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi’s ball control.” said the great Argentine player Diego Maradona.
Probably the best dribbler to have ever stepped onto the pitch Lionel Messi has spent his entire professional career at FC Barcelona where he has won a club-record 34 trophies with a mammoth 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA champions league titles (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015) scoring 433 goals in 468 appearances.
Messi is one of the most decorated players of all time with many regarding him as the G.O.A.T. He can be employed as a winger, forward or in an attacking midfield role – he will excel in all of them. With dribbling skills and vision better than anyone in the world he is a player every team wants. There is no team in the world that would not become better with the inclusion of Lionel Messi.
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His quick thinking play combined with a calm demeanor in front of the goal creates a deadly combination that was utilized in full flow by former Barca players Xavi and Andres Iniesta. The Tika Taka style of play had Messi at its core with him scoring a staggering 91 goals in 2012 – the highest number of goals in a calendar year surpassing German and Munich great – Muller.
Messi has won the BallonD’or a record 6 times (2009,2010,2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019) and the European Golden Shoe 6 times as well (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017,2018 and 2019), In the year of 2014, Lionel Messi won World cup best player award(Golden Ball) award for his outstanding performance.
The Little magician has also won FIFA Player of the year, FIFA best player, and Best footballer in the world awards couple of times because of his memorizing performance for the Catalan giants, and currently, he is the best football player in the world.
Right now the Argentine is the highest-paid footballer per week by Barcelona.