For those of you who have been following, this is the final instalment of the Sportskeeda Top 50 series, detailing the top fifty players currently plying their trade in the top leagues across the globe. Naturally, such a debate is subjective, but these rankings have had a sprinkle of objectivity and statistics to back up the views presented.
The best fifty footballers in the world were selected primarily on ability and form. From there, each individual was given a score out of 100 for their overall ability, success and recent form, relative to their age and time in the game and with injuries taken into account. The former was supplied with a 40% weighting, while the other two categories each received 30% weightings.
Also Read: Sportskeeda's list of 50 Best players playing currently: 50 – 41
Also Read: Sportskeeda's list of 50 best players playing currently: 40 – 31
Also Read: Sportskeeda's list of 50 best players playing currently: 30 – 21
Also Read: Sportskeeda's list of 50 best players playing currently: 20 – 11
A weighted average was deducted and the fifty players on the list have been ranked based on said averages. To distinguish between players who were particularly close in the rankings, other factors such as potential and contribution to their respective teams were factored in.
So, with no further ado, here is the pinnacle of the ongoing series, with the top ten footballers in the world currently:
#10 Philipp Lahm
There is no mincing of words when it comes to the phenomenon that is Phillipp Lahm, he has permanently etched his name in German football history. Having captained Bayern Munich to the treble in 2013 and his nation to the World Cup title a year later, the 33-year-old evidently has all the makings of the perfect leader on the pitch.
Pep Guardiola stated undeniably that Lahm is “perhaps the most intelligent player I have ever trained in my career. He is at another level”. High praise indeed and well-deserved too; Lahm showed not only how competent a player he is but also his versatility when he excelled in a holding midfield role after having served the Bavarians at full-back for his career prior to the change around.
Bayern are desperate to renew the German’s contract come the end of the season; in a team full of big egos and up-and-coming starlets, a veteran like Lahm is sorely needed to add gravity to the team. The former German international was recently named in the UEFA Euro All-time XI and nobody could deny that he deserves such praise given his stellar success, inspiring approach to the game and never-say-die attitude.
#9 Jerome Boateng
Now to the highest ranked defender on the list, Jerome Boateng is widely regarded as the best centre-half in the world, presently. The 28-year-old relies on movement and spatial awareness rather than core strength or physicality when outwitting an opponent and is an excellent reader of the game generally. These are the traits which have moulded the former-Hamburg and Manchester City man into the most dependable defender in Bavaria.
Boateng has been plagued by, predominantly muscular injuries this campaign, so far, limiting his game time, but he is one of the first names on the team-sheet when available, nonetheless. Last year saw the German have an excellent Euro 2016, in which he averaged six defensive actions per game as well as having completed the second highest number of successful passes at the tournament (392), reiterating once again how he is a ‘footballing defender’, keen to involve himself in as many ways as possible.
Still youthful considering his position on the pitch, Boateng already has four Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Champions League crown to his name and is also a World Cup winner, meaning he scores very highly for success.
With the exception of his poor injury history and an inherent fear of Lionel Messi (let’s face it, is there a defender who doesn’t fear the little Argentine), the Germany international is untouchable, mastering a new defensive style at the heart of one of Europe’s most formidable defences at Bayern.
#8 Andres Iniesta
“I’d like to see Iniesta, Messi and Luis Enrique together next year. That would mean that Barca would continue being in very good health,” these were the thoughts of Catalan legend Xavi, who formed a borderline telepathic relationship with Iniesta in his time at the Nou Camp.
When tiki-taka was at its pomp, Lionel Messi may have been the exceptional end-product, but it was Andres Iniesta, blessed with godly vision and clinical passing accuracy, who was pulling the strings in midfield.
The 32-year-old is always involved, whether it be through splitting a defence with an incisive pass, offloading a short ball to a nearby teammate to start an attack or picking up the ball close to goal ready to polish off a fluid move. Nobody on this list has won more than the Spaniard – eight La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and four Copa del Reys with his boyhood Barcelona, as well as two European Championships and a World Cup with Spain. Phew.
Given how he practically redefined how the game is played, at his peak, Iniesta could’ve not played a minute in 2016 and still fallen into the top ten of this list, based purely on his core success and ability.
That said, the midfielder still had a relatively solid year, creating 9 chances and maintaining an average pass completion of 91% at Euro 2016. His campaign with Barcelona has been dealt a slight blow by casualties, but he has still made three assists and created eleven chances so far.
#7 Sergio Aguero
By far and away Manchester City’s most influential talent this campaign, as he has been for several years, Sergio Aguero already has 11 league goals to his name this term, averaging a goal every 104 minutes, the best rate in the division. The tally is just six shy of the Argentinian’s 17 goals last season. The 28-year-old seldom fails to dispatch when he breaks through the opposition defence and is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after frontmen in world football.
In terms of playing style, Kun Aguero is a strong dribbler, with quick feet and a powerful strike behind him, equally capable of holding up the ball in the final third in a target-man-like role. The forward has outlined his attacking prowess both on the domestic and international stage, having scored 20 goals in the UEFA Champions League across four seasons.
The Argentine has lit up the footballing pantheon on many occasions, lifting the roof of the Etihad Stadium most notably on the final day of the 2011/12 season with a last-gasp strike against QPR to hand Manchester City their first ever Premier League title.
Agüero has since won another Premier League title and two League Cups with City, having also won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid in 2010, as well as finishing a World Cup runner-up with Argentina four years later.
#6 Neymar
“Today he has Messi and Ronaldo in front of him, but Neymar is doing a good job and soon he will be the best player in the world,” claimed Brazilian legend Rivaldo in an interview with Barca TV last year. There’s much evidence to support his claim, given that Neymar, still just 24-years-old, has cemented his place in the most lethal frontline trio the world has ever seen.
MSN (comprised of Messi, Suarez and Neymar) scored an eye-watering 130 goals and made 77 assists in the 2015/16 season, with Neymar contributing 24 goals and 12 assists.
The Brazilian measures just 5’ 7”, which gives him a low centre of gravity and thus excellent balance, the reason why he is so competent when it comes to weaving his way round defenders, picking up pockets of space in the final third and running off other forwards at explosive speed.
It's fair to say that his decision-making can be lax on occasion, but Neymar is undoubtedly one of the most promising talents we have ever seen.
The 24-year-old has already secured two La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League since arriving in Catalonia. The Brazilian looks set for a career with more silverware and personal accolades, perhaps readying himself to take over Lionel Messi’s position, once the Argentine’s time at the Catalan club is up.
#5 Robert Lewandowski
Son of a Polish judo champion and a professional volleyball player, Lewandowski was born with a winning mentality. Having flourished in Dortmund, the 28-year-old has etched his name in football legacy in Bavaria, where he's been the focal point of one of Europe's most deadly attacks, scoring more than 60 goals in fewer than 100 appearances for Bayern Munich so far.
This season, the Pole already has 12 goals to his name in 16 appearances, making him the top scorer at the club this term.
Compared to others on the list, Lewandowski's trophy haul is relatively meagre; during his time in Germany, he's won four Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokals. Why then does he rank so highly? Firstly, there is ultimately nobody in the world who fits the category of out-and-out striker better the Lewandowski; the Barcelona trio, Ronaldo and Aguero all tend to shift into false-nine, wide or centre forward roles.
Therefore, the Pole is essentially the best in his position in the world, beholding phenomenal versatility, he can play to his physical strengths as a target man but also has incredible speed and footwork on the ball.
On top of that, Lewandowski's time with Borussia Dortmund outlined how he can lead a team to success practically single-handedly, while others on the list have been installed into an already fearsome side. The 28-year-old is absolutely devastating on his day, just ask Wolfsburg, who were on the back end of a Lewa-mauling when he bagged a sensational five goals in nine minutes last term.
#4 Manuel Neuer
From one end of the Bayern Munich pitch to the other, Manuel Neuer has served just over five years with the German champions as the arguably the greatest goalkeeper the game has ever seen. Naturally, the Gelsenkirchen-born shot-stopper’s reflexes and handling are bordering on perfect, but it’s the way he’s redefined the sweeper-keeper role as his own which has earned him the most plaudits.
The 30-year-old has won four Bundesliga titles, the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup in 2014, as well as having won the Player of the Year award in Germany on two separate occasions. He also became the first goalkeeper in nearly a decade to be shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or back in 2014, where he finished third.
The Germany international has perfected practically every aspect of goalkeeping, contributing to the outfield as well as between the sticks, with his top distribution and aforementioned sweeper skills, while he is also competent at stopping penalties. His most notable contribution was when he denied both Kaka and Ronaldo from the spot in a shootout to guide the Bavarians through to the 2012 UEFA Champions League final.
It’s easy to overlook goalkeepers when it comes to lists like this but who’s to say that Neuer doesn’t contribute as much to the Bayern and Germany contingents as their respective outfield crops. Neuer is young for one in his position, blessed with an intimidating frame and excellent natural ability.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo
It seems ludicrous that the 2016 Ballon D’Or winner ranks third on our list, but there is more criteria to consider and the top two pip the 31-year-old to the post courtesy of other factors than ability. The Portuguese poster boy secured international success for the first time in his career last year when his nation lifted Euro 2016.
His contribution to the triumph is unquestioned – CR7 scored three goals across the seven games, and also making two assists. This season so far, the Real Madrid forward has scored 11 goals in 12 games in the league and remains the most vital component to the Galacticos.
Subject of a £256 million bid from an unnamed Chinese outfit at the end of last month, Ronaldo’s market value and reputation as a player are both unprecedented and known even by non-football fans. Everyone can recall a trademark Ronaldo free-kick or a time where the Portuguese leapt like a salmon to dispatch a cross with his head; his exemplary, copybook style is acknowledged by every football fan across the globe.
Despite having scored more than 270 goals in 248 matches for Real Madrid, a spell-bounding feat, Ronaldo’s team successes are not as plentiful as one might think. That said, he still has two La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League crowns to his name, as well as having broken numerous records from the most expensive player in football history (from 2009-2013) to the most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League.
The latter is a record still being contested by our number two on the list…
#2 Lionel Messi
Ultimately, I never wanted to distinguish between Ronaldo and Messi – the two are equally as phenomenal in terms of ability and should not be compared, but some criteria positions the Argentinian above the Portuguese superstar.
Lionel Messi is two years younger than Ronaldo and at just 29-years of age, has achieved everything in the game he possibly could’ve done with the exception being the World Cup. His Argentina team finished unfortunate runners-up to Germany in 2014 in a tournament where Messi was named the best player.
The king of Catalonia, Messi has won four UEFA Champions Leagues, eight La Liga titles, as well as an incredible five Ballon D’Ors, more than any other player in the history of the game. He is often criticised for his one-club man attitude for showing a lack of ambition but try telling that to the man who is the club’s all-time top goalscorer, shattering the previous record.
There are few individuals who inflict as much damage in the final third, meanwhile contributing so much to the team in terms of assists and passing further back. Messi shows improvement year-on-year in every department of his game and last year scored 32 league goals, taking his total goal tally at Barcelona to 475 goals in official competitions.
The Argentinian is blessed with a natural ability to control and strike the ball. While Johann Cruyff dubs Messi “incomparable”, Pep Guardiola claims “don’t write about him, don’t try to describe him. Just watch him”. Sorry Pep.
#1 Luis Suarez
Choosing between this top three is a bit like picking your favourite child. Rather than opting for the two beautiful, established kids everyone loves and adores, I’ve ultimately gone with the unorthodox, slightly young and newer option of Luis Suarez.
Take the machine-like physicality of Ronaldo, the aesthetic agility and finesse of Lionel Messi, Suarez matches both and adds an incomparable finishing ability to them. These attributes, along with an infectious work rate and often despised, rallying aggression, have been sharpened at clubs like Liverpool and Ajax, where the Uruguayan carried the burden of the respective clubs.
Barcelona is the first place where Suarez has had equally admirable talent surrounding him and he’s achieved things only few could have envisaged.
After winning the 2015/16 Golden Shoe ahead of the likes of Ronaldo and Messi with an incredible 40 goals, many thought that a new candidate was emerging as a potential threat to the perennial top two and they’d be right.
In 2016, Luis Suarez scored more league goals (37) than any other player in the top ten divisions across the continent and this season leads the way in La Liga in terms of goals and assists combined. Whatever the Ballon d’Or may argue, he was the most prolific player across the calendar year and it’s ultimately the form criteria which hands Suarez top spot.
The 29-year-old may only have two La Liga titles, one UEFA Champions League title and the League Cup with Liverpool as noteworthy successes to his name, but he has always been at the heart of any triumphs the clubs he’s been with have made.
Suarez went to Barcelona in 2014 a world-class player and he has tripled in terms of ability, success and attitude since.
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