10 Best Football Players In The World

Right now, the world has some incredible football players. The ones we listed are based on their performance over the course of the year.

Soccer has produced some incredible players to the elegance of the beautiful game since its inception.

We have been fortunate to witness some of the world’s best football players, whether it was Pele, Di Stefano, Garrincha, and Puskas in the 1950s, Maradona in the 1980s, or Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Messi, and Ronaldo in the last 20 years. Choosing a top ten list is difficult because there are so many deserving players on the planet right now from newbies with only a few seasons under their belt to near-age ending superstars.

The below ranking of the soccer players is based on their last season’s performance stats. There can be no end to debate among football fans over who is the best footballer in the world. There is no end to the love for football. If you are a football fan, you must know about the free football streaming sites on pathofex.

Every soccer fan has their own list, and the hot topic among them always remains who is best? Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? To end all the debates and fan fights, here’s our list based on stats and performances.

Before we begin here are the players just outside the top 10.

Federico Chiesa – Juventus/Italy

Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid/Brazil

Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur/England

Ruben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal

Dusan Vlahovic – Juventus/Serbia

Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal

’Golo Kante – Chelsea/France

Jorginho – Arsenal/Italy

Mohamed Salah — Liverpool FC/Egypt

Sadio Mane — FC Bayern Munich/Senegal

Without further ado, here is a list of the greatest football players of all time.

10. Hakim Ziyech – Chelsea/Morocco

Ziyech is a Chelsea midfielder who is an integral part of his team, as well as the Morocco national team. At the age of 29, he had plenty of success on the international scene, mainly due to his fantastic ball control, versatility, vision, speed, and overall skill, which is among the very top in the world.

As far as the biggest achievements of his career go, he was the winner of the UEFA Champions League in 2020/2021 and UEFA Super Cup in 2021/2022. He was also the winner of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. Hakim had an impressive run at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Morocco’s national team was one of the most pleasant surprises of the tournament, as they managed to reach the semifinals, where they lost to France. In the battle for the third spot, they lost to Croatia 2:1, but it was still an impressive run, and Ziyech was a huge part of that success.

9. Virgil van Dijk — Liverpool FC/Netherlands

The Dutch professional footballer, Virgil van Dijk, plays for English Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Netherlands national team.

His contribution for Liverpool to win the Champions League title and the clinch Premier League title helped to lift The Best FIFA Men’s Player. One of the best defenders in the world missed the Ballon d’Or.

He signed for Liverpool coming from Southampton in January of 2018, and this turned out to be one of the best moves the team has made in years. Ever since this transfer, Virgil has become a top-tier Premier League defender and is an anchor of Liverpool’s defense.

In the 2020/21 season in Premier League, van Dijk conceded only 22 goals, kept 20 clean sheets, and had an incredible 74 percent tackle success rate which earned him the title of the Premier League Player of the Year.

During that year, van Dijk led the Liverpool team to the first title in 30 years. Although last season was not as good for him, Virgil still had an incredible year, and Liverpool finished second in Premier League, closely contesting Manchester City throughout the year.

In the 2022 World Cup, Virgil was the captain of the Netherlands national team. They got out of the group stage with relative ease and knocked out the United States in the round of sixteen. In the quarterfinals, they played a thrilling match against champions-to-be Argentina.

After regular and extra time, the score was 2-2, and Argentina advanced after a better penalty shootout. Despite the elimination, it was one of the most exciting matches at the tournament, and Virgil gave quite a performance in every game he played.

8. Neymar — Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil

One of the best players in the world, Neymar currently plays in the Ligue 1 for the club Paris Saint-Germain. Neymar is the second-highest goalscorer for the country, just behind Pelé with 64 goals in 103 matches.

Neymar’s 72nd goal put him in the list of top ten goal scorers in PSG history, his first goal against Angers.

He played an important role in the victory in the 2011 South American Youth Championship and was the leading goalscorer. He has pocketed many popular and prestigious awards. Although he struggled with some injuries during the past couple of seasons, he managed to pick himself up and keep playing at an elite level.

When in top shape, Neymar can be truly unstoppable and play on a world-class level. Nevertheless, Neymar remains hungry for titles, and although he won multiple French league and cup titles, he still did not get close to winning the Champions League with his current team, Paris Saint Germain.

He is the world’s fourth-most famous athlete and one of the most influential people in the world. He earns huge after transfer to PSG and ranks third among the highest-paid athletes.

Neymar was also an integral part of the Brazil national team in the Qatar World Cup. After a successful group stage, they proceeded to eliminate South Korea but got eliminated in a thriller against Croatia in the quarterfinals after the penalty shootout. Neymar scored two goals at the World Cup.

7. Robert Lewandowski — Barcelona FC/Poland

The Polish professional footballer currently plays for Barcelona and is the captain of the Poland national team. He is popular among fans for his positioning, technique and finishing.

Considered to be one of the best strikers in the world, they claimed the Polish Player of the Year a record eight times. In 2023, he received IFFHS World’s Best Top Goal Scorer Award.

This year, Lewandowski won the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award and the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award.He remains one of the most in-form players of the generation, without any doubt. His incredible talent for positioning and scoring made him one of the deadliest scorers in the world and one of the most feared strikers on the planet.

Lewandowski has a well-balanced set of skills when it comes to pace, strength, and technical ability, which certainly earns him the spot among the all-time greats in the history of football.

Lewandowski was the captain of the Polish national team at the World Cup. They got out of the group by the skin of their teeth in a thrilling final match on the stage. However, Poland got eliminated in the round of sixteen by the soon-to-be finalist, France.

6. Erling Haaland — Manchester City/Norway

Manchester City striker is known for his pace, flexibility, and strength. He made everyone fan with his amazing moves on the field. He is one of the best young footballers in the world right now.

Haaland won the Golden Boot with nine goals in a match in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Erling also scored his first international hat-trick against Romania in the 2023–21 UEFA Nations League.

Erling represents the finest of what the future of football represents. He is a deadly striker with an incredible sense of positioning and the ability to find himself in the right place at the right time. His potential is incredible, and in a couple of years, he may find himself number one on most of the top football players’ lists.

While he was in Borussia Dortmund, Haaland was by far the best scorer in the Bundesliga, scoring 86 goals in 89 games. In 2023, he completed the transfer to Manchester City worth 63 million euros.

At 6’4”, he is wide, long, and strong, and a force that very few defenders in the world can contain. Since Haaland is so very young, every football fan on the planet is watching him with great anticipation to find out just how much more he can develop his game. So far, it looks like he may go down as one of the best that ever stepped on the football field by the end of his career.

Haaland is currently the first scorer of the Premier League with a total of 25 goals. Despite him being the top scorer, Manchester City is still in second place in the Premier League standings, but they are only 6 points behind the leading Arsenal, although they have played one extra match.

Considering how fierce the competition is in this league, it would not come as a surprise if City breaks through to the top seed at some point, as they are in incredible form and are in capable Pep Guardiola’s coaching hands.

5. Karim Benzema – Real Madrid/France

On the football field, Karim Benzema has reached a level that is definitely unreachable for most players out there. The Frenchman has been an anchor and always reliable player for Real Madrid for years, and he ended up with one of the best seasons in his career in 2023/2022.

He did not make it to our list just because of his 27 goals in 32 La Liga games during last season; he also delivered four back-to-back seasons in which he scored 20 goals and stacked numerous assists. All of this is a testament to his work ethic and devotion to his craft, and we excitingly wait for his upcoming season.

Benzema has retired from international football after he had to sit out France’s run to the World Cup final due to injury. He won the Ballon d’Or in October, which was one of his latest career successes, but he announced his decision to end his career with Les Bleus on his 35th birthday.

He suffered a thigh injury, which was the reason for his absence from the team. Throughout his career in national jersey, Benzema scored 37 goals in 97 games. Although his international career was marked by a long period of absence, he still found various ways to contribute by wearing French national colors.

4. Kevin De Bruyne — Manchester City/Belgian

He has been awarded some popular awards such as IFFHS Men’s World Team, the UEFA Team of the Year, the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season, and the ESM Team.

He has been featured in the IFFHS World’s Best Playmaker, Premier League Playmaker of the Season, the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season, the Bundesliga Player of the Year and the Footballer of the Year.

De Bruyne is an absolute world-class in terms of talent, football intelligence, and physical ability. He is easily the best midfielder in English Premier League right now and a force to be reckoned with.

Kevin made a name for himself for his incredible vision and passing ability, which are off the charts. He also has an accurate and powerful shot, so he is always a threat to score the goal from longer distances, whether it is from a free kick or in the middle of the attack sequence.

Being such a huge factor for the Manchester City team, he was an irreplaceable piece to the team that won this year’s Premier League title, and the team continues to go strong coming into the new season, with championship aspirations as always.

De Bruyne also played for Belgium’s national team at the World Cup in Qatar, but the team’s run ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of the entire tournament. They ended up with one win, one loss, and one draw, which ultimately was not enough for the team to advance to the round of sixteen.

3. Kylian Mbappe — Paris Saint Germain/France

The French professional footballer is currently for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team.

He is known for his finishing, dribbling, and speed. He played 100 matches for PSG with over 100 goals and just missed to become the top goalscorer in Europe. Being only 23 years of age, there is a lot of potential and hope for this young Frenchman to become one of the all-time greats. His stats and both physical and mental ability are on a very high level and objectively on the top-tier level.

He is already a World Cup winner with France national team and a four-time Ligue 1 winner, and given that he is still very young, his trophy room will surely expand in the future years of his career. With his incredible speed, strength, and football know-how, he will certainly remain among the top players on the planet in the years to come.

Mbappe is one of the fastest players in the world right now, which he proved in the 2023 World Cup by reaching a top speed of 35kms/hour (22 miles/hour).

Mbappe cemented his position among the very best in the world’s football at the World Cup in Qatar. He scored a total of 8 goals at the tournament, along with 2 assists. He saved the best for last, as he managed to score a hat-trick in the finals match against Argentina, which many consider one of the greatest finals in the history of the game.

However, it was not enough to overcome the determined Argentina team led by Lionel Messi, and they lost the match after the penalty shootout. Nevertheless, Mbappe showed poise and incredible, god-given ability at the tournament, signalizing that the best days of his career are coming.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo – Al-Nassr FC/Portuguese

The only player to compete with Messi over the last decade, the Ballon d’Or this year, the goal-machine, the beauty, yep it’s him – Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese, forward for Premier League club Manchester United, ex-Juventus and Real Madrid. Currently, he is considered even better than his rival by some experts, and that’s impressive.

This phenomenal player is a combination of electrifying pace, imposing physic, incredibly quick in feet, and one of the best finishers to the spectator’s expectation.

Two seasons ago, he bagged Scudetto and Serie A’s MVP prize and Nations League trophy. Ronaldo has certainly secured his spot as one of the all-time greats in the history of the game with his incredible pace, physical ability, and unrivaled football intelligence.

His devotion to the game was never questioned, as he remains in top shape even as a 37-year-old. His all-around game and incredible ability are definitely the reasons why all football experts on the planet considered him a top-tier player for most of his career. Once he retires, the game will certainly miss him.

Also, he is considered to be one of the hottest players on and off the football field.

Ronaldo also played at the Qatar World Cup for team Portugal, where he scored one goal. He left the World Cup in tears as his chances to win this prestigious tournament for the first time in his career were shattered by one of the biggest surprises of the cup, Morocco. Ronaldo repeatedly stated that winning the World Cup was “the biggest and most ambitious dream” of his career.

It is likely that this was Ronaldo’s final appearance at the World Cup and probably the last appearance in the national jersey. After the fallout with Manchester United, he signed with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a two-year contract.

He left United after an explosive television interview in which he said he felt betrayed by the Old Trafford club and did not respect their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag. Given the fact that Ronaldo is 37 years of age, it is likely that he will end his career in Saudi Arabia. He signed a contract worth 200 million euros, which will take him to June 2025.

1. Lionel Messi — Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina

This Argentine striker of PSG is often considered as one of the greatest players of all time. The lone player in history to possess five Ballon d’Ors. This 5’9″ is probably the finest dribblers of all time. His capacity of playmaking, quality of passing, finishing and scoring capacity is a joy to watch with a bowl of popcorn.

Considered to be one of the best football players in the world, he has failed to lead his team Argentina to claim the Copa America’16 title, but that can not mud his quality.

GOAT is now officially ex-Barcelona, and we have to wait to see where Messi will play the 2023-23 season, but no doubt that the football legend held the well-deserved title of best footballer for a decade. At the age of 35, Leo keeps going strong and is still considered by many the best that ever stepped on the football field.

Whilst there are numerous lists of the best football players in the world right now, there are certain parameters that can determine which player is ranked where. We judged by the players’ successes over the last couple of seasons, and we believe our list to be pretty accurate.

We hope you enjoyed our article and that you find it informative. Our team updates sports news and articles on a daily basis, so drop by again, as this list will likely bring some new names to it in the upcoming season, about which the world of football fans is highly excited.

What is even more impressive is that he influenced so many young players around the globe with his impressive vision, resourcefulness, and overall ability, which was an unresolved enigma for countless defenders worldwide.

Although he had a rocky start at Paris Saint Germain, Messi picked up the pace last season and has started the 2023/2023 season by scoring three goals and passing two assists in three games, which are a sign that he still has a lot to prove in the G.O.A.T. debate.

The end of 2022 brought Messi one of the biggest, if not the biggest, success of his rich and prominent career. He finally added the trophy he wanted to win throughout his whole career to his jam-packed shelf by captaining Argentina national team to the Qatar World Cup triumph.

Leo scored 7 goals at the tournament and became the first player in the history of the game to score a goal in every stage of the World Cup – group, the round of sixteen, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. He also added two assists on top of that, and after emotional and thrilling finals against France, he raised the trophy for Argentina, which was the third overall this national team has won.

The winner of the finals was decided after penalties, and Argentina fans sighed in relief and joy after Messi and his teammates overcame the obstacles to the trophy after the finals drama. With this trophy added to his collection, it seems like Messi ended the G.O.A.T. discussion, at least according to many football analysts across the world.

He is not yet done, as he continues the season in Paris Saint Germain in full force, and perhaps, with extra motive and relief, after he finally wins the trophy he always dreamed of.

That was the list of the best 10 football players on the planet. Take a look at the following infographic and how many goals and assists some of them have by now:

Now that you saw which are the best players in the world, it’s time to go to the other side and find out who are the worst footballers of all time!