The Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo war appears to have passed into modern football mythology, but that leaves us no closer to a definitive answer as the next-gen megastars jostle for position. We’ve based our list on a variety of factors. We have taken short-term form into account, but particularly strong or weak 2021/22 seasons have been overlooked in many cases so that players with a long history of incredible performances aren’t shunted down at the first opportunity.
Trophies, strength of leagues, raw stats, unquantifiable magic and a host of other aspects have come together to form our criteria for the list, and we know you’re going to wholeheartedly disagree with us.
To whet your appetite even further, to demonstrate the sheer strength of the top 10, we have omitted defensive titans Rúben Dias and Virgil van Dijk, Manchester United’s creative behemoth Bruno Fernandes and PSG megastar Neymar from our rankings.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)
Ronaldo is one of the big sliders on this list after previously sitting firmly in the top two for over a decade.
It’s safe to say his best days are behind him as he approaches the final gambits of his career, but there’s no shame in that and he remains a lethal tool in United’s arsenal, even though it has been a rocky start to the new season.
9. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Mane’s impact at Liverpool is maturing long after his departure given the Reds’ current strife. His absence really does feel very apparent despite some of the bristling young talents on Merseyside.
The Senegalese winger netted 16 Premier League goals last term and he’s started life in the Bundesliga with three in three to introduce himself to his new club where he is, undoubtedly, the main man.
8. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Benzema has made a booming return to the list as he continues to enjoy an Indian summer after almost two decades in the game.
The Real Madrid talisman has been overlooked by Madrid for Galactico-style big-money names in recent years, but they always end up turning back to the reliable Frenchman who enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in 2021/22.
7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Salah’s direct running could be viewed as rudimentary by footballing snobs, but there’s no denying his effectiveness.
He may not boast the all-round game that many above him in this list have developed, but there are few better players in the world at picking the ball up out wide and driving across – or into – the box at speed.
6. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Kane is quite simply one of the world’s best strikers and well worthy of his seat at the top table in terms of world talents overall.
Kane has recorded comfortably more than 20 goals every time he has played more than 30 Premier League games for Tottenham in a season. During the other campaigns, severely hampered by injuries, he has still notched up big tallies
5. Erling Haaland (Man City)
We reach the first player on the list with extremely strong potential to reach the hallowed No.1 spot on this list within a few years.
Haaland has been magnificent since exploding onto the professional football scene. He was prolific at Red Bull Salzburg and made a mockery of the Bundesliga in a Dortmund shirt. He scored 86 goals in 89 games for the latter.
4. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Haaland’s main competitor for the title of ‘best player in the world’ is without a doubt Kylian Mbappe. The top three players on this list are all 29 and older, paving the way for the Frenchman to dominate for years to come.
He boasts acceleration that would put Doc Brown’s DeLorean to shame and at the age of 23 he already boasts 110 goals in 117 PSG league games and 27 goals in 57 France national team caps.
3. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
In terms of raw effectiveness, you could argue Salah should sit ahead of De Bruyne, but in terms of the complete package, skill-set, technical ability, physical merits and mental toughness, De Bruyne may well be the No.1 complete footballer in the world today.
He is the best crosser of a football in Premier League history and has played some of the most outrageous passes you’re ever likely to see. On top of creating goals, he can also rip nets from their stanchions himself.
2. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Lewandowski is one of the most in-form players in the world right now, there is simply no doubt about it. And he has been for some time. It feels like a great disgrace that he hasn’t lifted a ballon d’Or in his berserk career.
The Polish icon boasts a well-balanced portfolio of pace, strength and technical ability, and his movement in the box is sublime. His positioning is always on point and there’s no-one you’d rather trust in a one-on-one situation.
1. Lionel Messi (PSG)
“But, Ronaldo dropped to 10th?!” I hear you cry. There’s no trying to hide the fact that Lionel Messi didn’t set the world alight in Paris last season, well, at least by his ridiculous standards.
There’s no doubt about it that Ronaldo and Messi will go down in history among the top three best football players of all time, alongside the late great Diego Maradona, but while Ronaldo’s role has been boiled down somewhat, we’re still witnessing the full-fat version of Messi.