4 best number 10s in world football currently

Modified Nov 21, 2019 13:24 GMT

Liverpool FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League

#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

The Barcelona No. 10 jersey has been worn by some stellar names in the history of the club. Hristo Stoichkov, Romario, Rivaldo, Juan Roman Riquelme, and Ronaldinho are just a few of the brilliant names who have added value to the already legendary shirt number.

Similarly, the No. 10 jersey in the Argentina national team is also one of the most iconic numbers in the history of the game. Mario Kempes, Pablo Aimar, Riquelme and the indomitable Diego Maradona ensured that the No. 10 shirt for the national team was a part of the football folklore.

Now imagine a player who has been bestowed with the iconic shirt for both teams and has managed to surpass history in both colours. That perhaps summarizes what an absolute genius Lionel Messi is.

The Argentine started his career with the No. 30 for Barcelona, and also wore the No. 19 shirt for two seasons. It was the time when Ronaldinho was winning hearts as the Barcelona No. 10.

In the national team, Messi shifted between the No. 18 and the No. 19 shirt, while also donning the No. 15 jersey in the Olympics.. At around the same time, in the 2008/09 season, Lionel Messi took over the No. 10 jersey for both Barcelona and Argentina; he had certainly earned it.

Since then, the Barcelona skipper has won every trophy and award a footballer possibly can and has entertained football fans around the world with unbelievable consistency. He is a magician with the ball at his feet, the epitome of perfection on the pitch.

Messi, without doubt, is the best No. 10 in world football right now.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Zaid Khan