You may not be able to enjoy the stadium cheering for your favorite player during the English Premier League (EPL) or the Champions League and so on this year. But you can surely make up your mind on who to put in your top 10 best football player list.
So while you sit back at home, let’s brainstorm together.
This has been a difficult year for all fans as they miss out on their favorite champions’ class acts. The matches were lined up and the players were just getting themselves ready for the showdown when the world was hit by the coronavirus.
With entire world economies shut down and people asked to lock themselves up at homes, the pandemic took away our treasured leagues. As the virus spread globally, several players were detected positive with the virus. Thereafter FIFA made the depressing announcement: to cancel all leagues indefinitely.
The 2020 matches might have helped better in deciding who to put on the top tier list. However, we can still ruminate on it from within the comfort of our homes.
The (EPL) English Premier League, (La Liga) the Spanish Premier League along with Serial A (Italian League) and the Europa League are all on hold at the moment owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though the major leagues were off the calendar, some matches still continued to be played. However, a closed door face-off with an empty stadium is not really the best thing to happen to players or fans.
What’s the joy in playing when you don’t have a stadium full of fans to celebrate with you and share in your moment of glory?
An empty stadium doesn’t give players the necessary boost to class up their game and be on the best foot.
So now is the best time to dig deep and find out the answers to the question: Who are the best football players in the world right now? It shouldn’t be that difficult because if you’re a football lover, then you surely have the list already chalked out in your mind. Moreover, even though the leagues were canceled, we could already guess who were destined to be winners.
Read on to check out which players are in our list of the top 10 football players for the 2019/2020 season.
This article doesn’t provide a list of universal rankings. It’s a subjective ranking based on several determining factors. Let’s check out some of the factors we have focused on to choose our top 10 footballers.
5 Ways To Decide Who Is The Best Football Player In The World
It’s next to impossible to come to an agreement regarding the best players in the world. Yet we continue the debate over group chats and terrace parties (Zoom calls and group video chats for now).
The 2020 football season marks the beginning of a new era, a fresh decade in the sporting world. It’s the time when we see fresh young players clawing their way up into the big leagues. Many such youngsters have gained a fan-base of their own and have hogged the spotlight. Yet we’re still to decide whether the mature players are done with their charm or not.
The 2010 decade saw a steep competition for the title of Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball). This award is one of the oldest awards presented to individual layers for their talent. This new decade we have a set of rookies on the field who’re on the run for the title and let’s see who makes it to the top first.
The list of the top footballers is not made in jest. There are some pointers to help judge who gets to stay on the list and who has lost their charm. Some of these judgment factors are as follows:
1. Goals
This one seems pretty obvious. The guy to score the most number of goals for the team is an essential factor to determine the best players list. Though the number of goals on a player’s profile is a crucial determining factor, it’s important to remember that it’s not the only skill a player needs. Football is teamwork. It’s the team above the individual. So there are times when players lead up to the goal and then pass it on to the next player standing right next to him so that the team can score a goal. The technical credit goes to the individual that scores the goal, however, the person who handed him the goal is also the main guy who gets overshadowed. Therefore, other factors are also necessary to be taken into account while choosing the top 10 best players list.
Messi’s average goal-score is 1 every 100 minutes 18 seconds while Ronaldo’s is at 1 every 114 minutes 28 seconds. But this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the best football player. You also need to keep in mind the number of penalties or assists while judging a player by his book of goal scores.
2. Accuracy
The next most important judgment criterion is accuracy. If you’re rating the best, this can also be the most important factor for serious football lovers. There are several accuracy points in a match. For example, pass accuracy or shooting accuracy. When you combine these accuracy points of a player, you get an average accuracy for individual players. This factor combined with their goal scores almost lays out a clear picture in front of you. There’s debate on the accuracy of Ronaldo’s right foot and Messi’s left foot. Fans of both the players have continued to debate over the deadly accuracy of both these top tier players. Ratings of both these players are almost the same. However, Ronaldo’s shooting accuracy is slightly higher than that of Lionel Messi. Therefore this factor is important to judge other players on the field as well.
3. Players Discipline
The next factor is the behavior of players when they are on the pitch. It’s one thing when you’re performing, but how you behave while performing is also a crucial detail that determines who is to be on the list of top 10 football players of the world. Apart from the number of goals or the accuracy of the player, this is arguably one of the most important determining factors. It’s not uncommon that players play rough on the field. But going beyond the necessary limit to knock down other players for your benefit is not a good way to become the best in the field.
If a player is constantly served with a yellow card or a red card in consecutive matches, it doesn’t bode well on the future of the team or the individual player. Even with a lot of potential, players are known to be of no good to the team because of their rough behavior on the pitch. Repeated red or yellow cards can’t be good for the rest of the players or the team in general. So if a player is irresponsible enough to hamper the performance of his team, it’s a point to debate if he should be considered in the best football players list.
Records show that Ronaldo has 9 Red Cards in his name whereas Messi only has 1. In the case of Yellow Cards, Messi has received 48, but Ronaldo’s figure stands at 97.
4. Fan Base
You must be wondering what do fans have to do with becoming the best football player. It’s not like a fan base adds anything to the players’ performance sheet.
But amusingly, a player’s fan base speaks a lot about him. It also contributes to the players’ rankings. Football players have a worldwide fan base. It’s not a regional phenomenon. Therefore demographics related to a player’s popularity, its global fan figures tell us a lot about the popularity of the team across the globe. Just like playing a match in an empty stadium doesn’t feel right, determining the top football players of the world does not happen if you leave out the fans from the factors.
Lionel Messi’s global fan base consists of 87% of people across the globe. But on the other hand, Ronaldo tops this list with around 92% of global fans. Recently, Ronaldo’s Instagram followers crossed the 200 million mark which is a record figure for any individual.
5. Football Salary or Earnings
If you’re talking about money, then there’s no need to remind you that football players earn a lot of it. The wages of a player is determined based on its rank. The salary of an individual player can tell us a lot about the success he must have had in his career. Therefore, last but not the least, it’s essential to take a look at the salary books before jumping to conclusions regarding who gets to stay on the top 10 football players list.
Rumors have it that Santiago Bernabeu is not the same without its greatest Galactico. Cristiano Ronaldo left his home after almost 10 years when he realized that his fellow footballers were being paid far higher than him.
According to the latest reports, Ronaldo earns around $35 million per year playing for Juventus. Whereas Messi’s 2020 Salary statement mentions that he earns £800,000 per week playing for Barcelona.
There are tons of other factors to delve into if you have to determine who the best footballer is in today’s time. However, without further ado let’s unfold the list.
Top 10 Best Football Players Of 2020
While the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry has been going on for long, it’s time to turn to some other budding talents who have caught our eye with their astounding display of skill, stamina and, power. This list is majorly based on the previous performance of the players.
Read on to find out who makes the cut and who doesn’t.
10. Sadio Mane, Liverpool
Starting from the end, Sadio Mane is Number 10 on our list. This Senegalese forward has recently come into the global eye. In 2019, Mane was titled African Footballer of the Year. His records from the previous year (2018-19) show his remarkable progress in the field. The new-found jewel of the football community has other laurels to his name as well.
Mane has impressive performance records at The Champions League. He, along with his team-mate lifted his team Liverpool’s performance at the League. Sadio Mane’s 2020 records also show impressive results.
In the year 2019-20, Mane also won the FIFA Club World Cup. The confident youngster has a long way to go in the football field.
Very recently Mane also beat Riyad Mahrez and Mohamed Salah playing for Manchester City and is currently the best footballer in Africa.
The player is under the supervision and management of Jurgen Klopp Mane. He has a growing fan base across the world who are waiting for his next stunning season performance. And the confidence with which he is clawing for the top, he’s surely the right choice to make it into the top 10 best football player list of 2020.
9. Matthijs de Ligt, Juventus
It’s no wonder that Wonder Boy Matthijs made it to the top 10 list. so Number 9 on our list will be this Juventus newcomer who joined the Italian League in 2019.
Even though a youngster, the Juventus wonder boy has won many hearts already. He’s a fan favorite and quite rightly so. Matthijs’ defense strategies on the field are to die for. This former Ajax Skipper was so impressive that Christiano Ronaldo asked him to switch to Juventus after his grand exit from the UEFA Nations League finals. This light-foot, skilled newcomer was an exciting addition to the Juve Football Club.
Matthijs has a lot to contribute to the defense strategies of Juventus. He’s accomplished a lot more than what defenders generally do. The Juventus player has also won the Kopa Trophy of 2019 and is looking forward to win Serie A is his very first season. Fingers crossed fans!
8. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
It’s been a tough race for Salah. But surely, there’s no one better to lead the Liverpool reds towards victory. Mohamed Salah had to make it to this list of the best football players of 2020, as without him, the list will be incomplete.
Salah led Liverpool to the finals of the Champions League in 2017-18. However, they couldn’t bag the trophy that year because of his unfortunate shoulder injury in the first half of the game.
Not to worry, he returned to bag his victory in the next season (2018-19, Champions League). Salah is the central figure of Liverpool currently. With Salah in the center of Liverpool, the team is aiming for a continental double this year.
The confident personality with a huge fan base was impressive in his 2019-20 season. He won the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Salah is now aiming for his first EPL title this football season.
7. Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona
The former Ajax player is another impressive football player in current times. He recently shifted from Ajax to Barcelona and currently plays as a midfielder for the Spanish Club. While Frenkie still has a long way to go, his career in La Liga seems to be a promising one.
This Dutch football freshman had an impressive season back in 2018-19 while playing for Ajax. With his fresh talent, he led Eredivisie to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 22 years.
While Frenkie and his team lost the semi-finals back then, he’s confident to win his first title in La Liga in the upcoming season.
6. Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona
There’s no doubt that Griezmann is on the list of the top 10 football players in the world. Antoine Griezmann is the 6th one on our list and let’s check out more details about this French football player.
Griezmann moved to Barcelona, a La Liga giant, in the 2019 summer. His appearance this season was no less impressive. There’s a worldwide fan base for this player who has won many hearts till now.
The player is aiming for the UEFA Champions League title along with a La Liga title in his upcoming seasons. This forward player has proved to be a defender’s nightmare with his excellence. And combined with Messi and Suarez, they seem to be the unstoppable trio.
But with the coronavirus pandemic putting a stop to the world, fans are eagerly waiting to see Griezmann on the field claiming the titles he deserves.
5. Eden Hazard, Real Madrid
The former Chelsea player Eden Hazard made it to the headlines when he moved to the Spanish Club, Real Madrid. Sources tell us that his shift to Real Madrid filled his pockets with 100 million Euros.
Apart from that, the Belgian footballer has a lot of accomplishments attached to his name. In the 2018-19 season, he led his team to win the UEFA Europa League. After which he shifted to Real Madrid.
Playing for the Zinedine Zidane team, Hazard aims to bag the Champions League title this season and the La Liga with Madrid title.
4. Neymar Jr., Paris Saint-Germain
Even though Neymar Jr. makes it to our top 4, he has been the central figure in many controversies. The footballer has achieved a lot in the field of football but he has made the headline for the wrong reasons.
Neymar Jr. was accused of rape. However, the case was closed due to the lack of evidence. He was also involved in a public brawl with a fan. After the incident, he was removed from the position of Captain of Brazil.
He was also said to be removed from PSG. However, that decision was never put to action.
This season, he is back in full form and has promised to fight for the Championship title.
3. Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain
From the very beginning, Mbappé has proven it through his talent that he is made for the big games. As a teenager, Mbappé led his team to victory in the FIFA World Cup, 2018. His participation in the World Cup was crucial in the final victory with him scoring 4 goals in the finals against Argentina.
When the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo dies down, Mbappé is the person to lead the football scene of the world. His ever-growing fan base is looking out for a Mbappé win this season in the Champions League. He rightly deserves the place of the top 3 in our list of the best football players in the world.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo , Juventus
Here comes the part that most might not agree with. Ronaldo is a man who has set such high standards regarding football that it’s difficult to match up to his potential and dedication.
Cristiano Ronaldo has experience in and out of the field. As remarkable a player he is, he also has the experience of playing from 3 different leagues. His zest for football never dies down and he never compromises on his dedication to the sport.
Cristiano Ronaldo has many accomplishments to his name. Being a 5-time winner of Ballon d’Or has not stopped his run. He’s the only player to score a hat-trick in Spanish, English and, Italian Leagues. He still hopes to accomplish much more in Serie A.
1. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
The God of Football rightfully deserves the top position in our list of the top 10 football players of the world. He is the only player in the world to ever win 6 Ballon d’Or titles.
His love for the game is clear when he plays. Starting from accuracy to goals, he is a magical talent in the world of football. The player has been with Barcelona throughout his career and hopes to win another League with the La Liga giant.
ionel Messi is aiming for a continental triple this season and expects to win more Ballon d’Or titles to add to his elaborate collection of trophies and awards.
The Messi charm is still not lost and there’s still a lot left in this Argentine player. So here’s hoping for a better season for ionel Messi.
Bonus Point
Among those who didn’t make the top 10 cut are two more players. They might have missed the list, but they are also extraordinary players with a lot of potential.
Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool and Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
While Virgil is also referred to as the best defender, Harry Kane is a talented striker. Both have a lot of talent and have made a notable start in the previous season.
Harry Kane is also the 2018 Golden Boot World Cup winner, while Virgil’s line of defense has claimed a lot of fame for Liverpool EPL.
With their impressive skills, they are worth honorary mention while curating a list of the best footballers in the world.
Conclusion
There’s our list of the top 10 football players in the world, 2020. Check out whether it matches your list or not.