Top 10 active footballers apart from Ronaldo and Messi 

#6 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

Kroos has been a great influence on both club and country level

It was a decade ago when a certain Toni Kroos sent ripples across the football world with his distinct performances in the U-17 FIFA World Cup. Since then, the German midfield enforcer has made it to the highest echelons of the beautiful game with his vintage style of play.

An exquisite passer of the ball, Kroos was the bedrock of Germany's World Cup-winning campaign in 2014. He has accurately replicated that role at Real Madrid in their back-to-back Champions League-winning seasons.

Toni Kroos has earned a stellar reputation for his ability to control the tempo of the game. His exploits while pulling strings in the midfield have earned him the pseudonym of 'The Puppet Master'.

On his day, the German midfielder can make more passes than the entire opposition combined. His consistency in dishing out decisive passes to attackers helps his team score a plethora of goals during a game. Being gifted with superb vision, Toni Kroos is also a threat to reckon when it comes to taking set-pieces. Also, he can perform equally well as a box-to-box midfielder, owing to his talent in breaking the opposition's attack.

At just 27, the dynamic midfielder has won every major trophy in the beautiful game. Considering his achievements, it is hard to believe Bayern sold him for just €25 million. Now that's certainly the bargain of the century!