100 Best Footballers in the world 2024: Lewandowski’s Dash, Messi’s Fall, Ibrahimovic’s Extravaganza
The editorial staff of the Football-Fan portal introduces the latest rating of the best performers of the planet, annually updated by our British colleagues from the Guardian.
FIFA World Cup 2024 in Qatar
So, what has changed in the top 100 over the past year? Oh, very radical!
1st place. Lionel Messi (Barcelona / Argentina national team)
Lionel Messi Age: 33
Lionel Messi Position: right winger
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2024
2024 was a Good year for Lionel Messi. Yes that there, last season was almost the worst in his life: yes, Leo continued to score a lot, showed amazing dribbling and distributed amazing homing passes – but the former ease was traced to a much lesser extent.
Which, however, did not prevent Messi, even in far from the best year in terms of club results, to finish in a high second place in the Guardian rating, beating almost all the main competitors, led by Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo – and only Robert Lewandowski was objectively out reach zones for “Fleas”.
Alas, the Argentine was really not that good. He rightfully lost the palm to the Polish striker Bayern Munich, who destroyed Barça in the 2019/20 Champions League quarterfinals with an obscene score of 8: 2.
It seems like a crazy year 2020 made it clear that the end of the Messi era is just around the corner. Will Lionel put skeptics to shame in 2024?
2nd place. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus / Portugal national team)
Cristiano Ronaldo Age: 35 years old
Cristiano Ronaldo Position: left winger
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2024
In the past year, Ronaldo has tried to live up to his own standards – the standards of one of the greatest footballers of all time. Krish won the second Serie A gold medal, reached the Italian Cup final, and also helped the “old lady” to break into the Champions League playoffs (though after 1/8 “Juve” he safely flew out, losing to French “Lyon” on the sum of two meetings).
But at the same time, the Portuguese failed to win the title of the best player in the Italian championship. He also lost to Ciro Immobile in the scorer race.
However, 2020 is also the year that Ronaldo set a Serie A record with 11 straight games, and the year that he scored his 100th (and then 101st) goal for Portugal, becoming the first a European who has ever reached this mark in international fights at the national level.
And even though in the Guardian tally, only three judges recognized KriRo as the best player of the year (for comparison, there were 11 such players in 2019), but the final place in the top 3 indicates that Ronaldo remains in the cohort of the best football players in the world …
3rd place. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain / Brazil national team)
Age: 28 years old
Position: left winger
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2024
Over the past year, Neymar managed to demonstrate an amazing leap, returning to the top ten thanks to the enormous usefulness for his team and individual skills that have not disappeared anywhere. Ney climbed 22 places in the top 100 because it was the year he put all his extraordinary skills to the benefit of PSG . The French media state: Neymar has finally come a difficult path from an ordinary ambassador of a Parisian brand to a real leader on the field.
Teammates are used to ferrying the ball to Neymar no matter how many opponents are around him, knowing full well that the extraordinary Brazilian is able to generate danger and score the ball even when, it would seem, there is not the slightest chance for this. Yes, he really failed to prove himself in the 2019/20 Champions League final, but we must not forget that it was Ney who became one of the key players who managed to take PSG so far along the tournament bracket.
And in the 2020/21 Champions League, Neymar continued to shine, scoring a total of 6 goals in the group stage, allowing Paris to advance to the playoffs in first place. The main thing is that Ney helped to leave Manchester United behind (3: 1 at Old Trafford in the 5th round with a Brazilian double), demonstrating his world class.
He remains very valuable for his country as well, approaching the goal record of Pele (77 goals), set by the “King of Football” when he was playing for the Brazilian national team. Now Neymar is in the second place in the list of the best goalscorers of Seleçao in the whole history with 64 goals scored.
4th place. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern / Poland national team)
Robert Lewandowski Age: 32 years old
Robert Lewandowski Position: center forward
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2024
The case when absolutely everyone had an overwhelming sense of universal injustice due to the decision to cancel the presentation of the Golden Ball -2020. And all because of that crazy “koronagod” did not prevent Robert Lewandowski to give one of the best seasons of his career: Pole not only collected the whole scattering of trophies and awards in Germany, but also made a huge contribution to the conquest of “Munich” lusted “eared” cup Champions League …
As the Guardian notes, although soon almost everyone will mourn the end of the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the football world will definitely not be left without a top star. Every year Lewandowski (and he is already 32 – the guy is at his zenith, but the sunset will begin soon …) only gets better and more efficient. His stats are incredible: Robert finished the 2019/20 season with 55 goals in 47 games for Bayern Munich – and became the second player in history to win a bombing race in all three treble competitions after Johan Cruyff (who 1972 while playing for Ajax).
A little later, Lewandowski came in third on the list of all-time Champions League top scorers, overtaking Raoul. Is it any wonder that Bayern coach Hansi Flick said that Lewandowski is “in the best shape of his life”? And it’s not just about goals, of course. Experienced Lewandowski still enjoys top-caliber football, breaking records and being a great example for younger teammates. And something tells us that the Lewandowski + Bayern tandem will continue to dominate for more than one year!
5th place. Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain / France national team)
Age: 22 years old
Position: center forward
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2024
Mbappe is a phenomenon of our time. By the time he turned 22, Kilian had accomplished more than most players have achieved in their entire careers.
Last season, Mbappe helped Paris Saint-Germain to finally overcome the quarterfinals of the Champions League (Italy’s Atalanta was defeated with a score of 2: 1), as well as to break into the final (RB Leipzig suffered in 1/2 , 3: 0). Alas, in the decisive battle for the trophy, Paris lost to a German tank represented by Bavaria (0: 1).
However, Kilian dropped one spot in the Guardian’s Top 100. Maybe this is because despite all the unconditional personal and team successes Mbappe did not look as brilliant as we used to see him before. The fall by one line is rather a statement that the French performer can use his incredible potential with greater efficiency.
Kilian lost the Champions League final, and also repeatedly made the wrong decisions, relying solely on his own phenomenal speed – unlike in the old days, when his exceptional ability to read the game and make decisions with lightning speed were some of the qualities that made Mbappe unattainable for others.
It’s time to state a fact: Kilian’s development as a footballer has stalled a little. That is why you can both give him the highest score and scold him in the style of “could have played better.” Perhaps leaving Paris Saint-Germain and changing the championship will spur Mbappe to new achievements?
6th place. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City / Belgium national team)
Kevin de Bruyne Age: 29 years old
Kevin de Bruyne Position: attacking midfielder
Place in the rating of 2024
De Bruyne shocked everyone when he failed to score a penalty in the November clash with Liverpool – just fans have long been accustomed to that Kevin is showing the perfect result.
Playing for Manchester City , De Bruyne did not enjoy 2020 as much as he did before. Although Kevin remains the most creative and stable footballer of the “blue moon”.
The relatively calm end of last year – De Bruyne was almost invisible in the sterile Manchester derby in December – led to new accusations that the Belgian playmaker disappears in matches against big teams, which rarely happens with the same Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. But it is impossible to deny the huge role of De Bruyne in Man City and the Belgian national team: Kevin has great hopes for 2024 (Champions League, European Championship plus a rematch in the Premier League) – so let’s see how successful he will be in the end.
7th place. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool / Netherlands)
Age: 29 years old
Position: center-back
Place in the rating of 2024
Still the best defender in the world, but no longer the second-best player on the Guardian’s roster – which should come as no surprise by and large. Last year, van Dijk did not always manage to demonstrate incredible shape and stamina, as it was in the same 2019. Also, a knee injury received in October in the Merseyside derby and requiring surgery had its weighty say.
That being said, Virgil definitely deserved to be in the cohort of the best, as he has always been an integral part of the Liverpool team, which in brilliant style won the Premier League title in the 2019/20 season.
It is also likely that van Dijk will drop out of the Guardian Top 10 next year. All the fault is the aforementioned severe damage, due to which the Dutch center back will be forced to miss almost the entire first half of 2024.
8th place. Sadio Mane (Liverpool / Senegal national team)
Age: 28 years old
Position: left winger
Place in the rating of 2024
The fall in two places is difficult to understand, given that the Senegalese national team player has continued his transformation into one of the most dangerous strikers of our time.
His contribution to Liverpool’s first league success in 30 years is also reflected in his position on the Guardian rankings, with Mane being the highest-rated player from Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Mane managed to outshine the eminent Mohammed Salah and Roberto Firmino last season when Leaver triumphed at the Club World Cup and won gold in the English Premier League. The 28-year-old scored 18 goals and provided seven assists, helping the Liverpool easily win their long-awaited 19th league title in history, although Manet’s importance alone cannot be measured by dry statistics.
Sadio scored important goals (in particular, the victorious one against Aston Villa in the last minutes at Aston Villa, which made it possible to formalize the decisive break in the championship race back in November last year), twisted the cervical vertebrae of the defenders and personified concentration, class and dedication Klopp’s team. And Mane was also named the best African footballer of the year for the first time – an amazing stage in his career!
9th place. Erling Holland (Borussia Dortmund / Norway national team)
Age: 20 years old
Position: center forward
Place in the ranking of 2024
Holland’s success raises his eyebrows in undisguised surprise: over the past year, the Norwegian talent has managed to overcome more than 50 positions in the ranking, leaving behind, in particular, one of the most expensive and promising footballers of our time – the Frenchman Kilian Mbappé.
2020 for Erling turned out to be nothing more than a sensation. Yes, earlier Holland had an extravaganza in Salzburg – but no one could have imagined that he would so quickly gain a foothold in the a priori stronger Borussia Dortmund , where Erling moved in January 2024.
Holland’s debut for Dortmund took place from the bench against Augsburg: then the talented guy scored a full-fledged hat-trick in 23 minutes! He then scored doubles in his next two Bundesliga games against Cologne and Union Berlin – and without looking back, he continued to crush opponents in the same vein.
By mid-December, he had scored 33 goals in 32 games for Borussia Dortmund. As the mentor of “bumblebees” Lucien Favre said after Holland’s bright debut: “The most frightening thing is that he is constantly progressing and will only get better!”.
10th place. Mohammed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
Age: 28 years old
Position: right winger
Place in the rating of The Guardian-2019: 5th (down 3 positions)
The most prominent representative of the Egyptian national team is in the top list of the Guardian for the sixth year in a row. Its results remain phenomenally consistent. After a relatively awkward start last season, Salah has rapidly increased his productivity and has gone to great lengths to help Liverpool win their first league title in 3 decades.
Mo’s contribution to the gold medal is high: 19 goals and 10 assists. Salah also finished that season as the first Liverpool player since Michael Owen (and this is a 17-year period!), Who scored 20 or more goals for Liver in all competitions three seasons in a row.
In the 2020/21 championship, Salah is also running smoothly. As of mid-January, the Egyptian scored 13 goals in 16 Premier League games (the best in the league at this stage) and 3 assists. A huge help for Liverpool trying to defend the title amid an unprecedented abundance of injuries.
Salah also became Liverpool’s top scorer in the Champions League, scoring his 22nd goal against Midtjylland. He also has remarkable figures in the form of 111 goals and 45 assists in 177 matches for the entire time he played for the Merseysides.
The Rules of Football Game 2024
- Jozua Kimmich(Bayern / Germany), in the 2019 ranking – 37th place (+26)
- Karim Benzema(Real Madrid / France national team), in the 2019 ranking – 20th place (+8)
- Sergio Ramos(Real Madrid / Spain national team), in the 2019 ranking – 36th place (+23)
- Thomas Müller(Bayern / Germany), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Manuel Neuer(Bayern / Germany), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Serge Gnabry(Bayern / German national team), in the 2019 ranking – 38th place (+22)
- Thiago Alcantara(Liverpool / Spain), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Trent Alexander-Arnold(Liverpool / England), in the 2019 ranking – 17th place (-1)
- Romelu Lukaku(Inter / Belgium national team), in the 2019 ranking – 51st place (+32)
- Harry Kane(Tottenham / England), in the 2019 ranking – 15th place (-5)
- Bruno Fernandes(Manchester United / Portugal national team), in the 2019 ranking – 69th place (+48)
22.Song Heung Min (Tottenham / South Korea), in the 2019 ranking – 19th place (-3)
- Alfonso Davis(Bayern Munich / Canada), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Ciro Immobile(Lazio / Italian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 63rd place (+39)
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic(Milan / Sweden national team), in the 2019 ranking – 96th place (+71)
- Alisson(Liverpool / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 9th place (-17)
- Raheem Sterling(Manchester City / England national team), in the 2019 ranking – 8th place (-19)
- Jan Oblak(Atletico / Slovenia national team), in the 2019 ranking – 24th place (-4)
- Jadon Sancho(Borussia Dortmund / England), in the 2019 ranking – 32nd place (+3)
- Timo Werner(Chelsea / German national team), in the 2019 ranking – 59th place (+29)
31.David Alaba (Bayern / Austria national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Alejandro Gomez(Atalanta / Argentina national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Jordan Henderson(Liverpool / England), in the 2019 ranking – 74th place (+41)
- Andrew Robertson(Liverpool / Scotland), in the 2019 ranking – 23rd (-11)
- Jamie Vardy(Leicester / England), in the 2019 rankings – 48th (+13)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(London Arsenal / Gabon national team), in the 2019 ranking – 28th place (-8)
- Juan Felix(Atlético / Portugal national team), in the 2019 ranking – 35th place (-2)
- Angel Di Maria(Paris Saint-Germain / Argentina national team), in the 2019 ranking – 39th place (+1)
- Paulo Dybala(Juventus / Argentina national team), in the 2019 ranking – 42nd place (+3)
- Leon Goretzka(Bayern / Germany national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Marcus Rashford(Manchester United / England), in the 2019 ranking – 72nd (+31)
- Toni Kroos(Real Madrid / Germany national team), in the 2019 ranking – 44th place (+2)
- Roberto Firmino(Liverpool / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 11th place (-32)
- Lautaro Martinez(Inter / Argentina national team), in the 2019 ranking – 47th place (+3)
- Ansu Fati(Barcelona / Spain national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Thibaut Courtois(Real Madrid / Belgium), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Kingsley Coman(Bayern / France), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Marc-André ter Stegen(Barcelona / Germany national team), in the 2019 ranking – 21st place (-27)
- Marquinhos(Paris Saint-Germain / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 71st place (+22)
- Kai Havertz(Chelsea / German national team), in the 2019 ranking – 86th place (+36)
- Fabinho(Liverpool / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 34th place (-17)
52.Dayo Upamecano (RB Leipzig / France national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Lucas Ocampos(Sevilla / Argentina national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Thiago Silva(Chelsea / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 68th (+14)
- N’Golo Kante(Chelsea / France), in the 2019 ranking – 22nd place (-33)
- Casemiro(Real Madrid / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 61st place (+5)
- Duvan Zapata(Atalanta / Colombia national team), in the 2019 ranking – 64th place (+7)
- Luis Suarez(Atlético / Uruguay national team), in the 2019 ranking – 26th place (-32)
- Jack Grealish(Aston Villa / England), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Hakim Ziyech(Chelsea / Morocco national team), in the 2019 ranking – 29th place (-31)
- Josip Ilicic(Atalanta / Slovenia national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Kalidou Coulibaly(Napoli / Senegal national team), in the 2019 ranking – 30th place (-32)
63.Diogo Jota (Liverpool / Portugal national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Memphis Depay(Lyon / Netherlands national team), in the 2019 ranking – 76th place (+12)
65.Sergio Aguero (Manchester City / Argentina national team), in the 2019 ranking – 13th place (-52)
- Federico Valverde(Real Madrid / Uruguay), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Keylor Navas(Paris Saint-Germain / Costa Rican national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Marcel Zabitzer(RB Leipzig / Austria national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Matthijs de Ligt(Juventus / Netherlands national team), in the 2019 ranking – 18th place (-51)
- Bernardo Silva(Manchester City / Portugal national team), in the 2019 ranking – 16th place (-54)
- Luka Modric(Real Madrid / Croatia national team), in the 2019 ranking – 45th place (-26)
- Ussem Aouar(Lyon / France), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Jorginho Wijnaldum(Liverpool / Netherlands), in the 2019 ranking – 43rd
(-thirty)
- Martin Edegaard(Real Madrid / Norway), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Leroy Sane(Bayern / Germany), in the 2019 ranking – 91st (+16)
- Ashraf Hakimi(Inter / Morocco national team), in the 2019 ranking – 90th place (+14)
- Riyad Marez(Manchester City / Algeria national team), in the 2019 ranking – 49th place (-28)
- Raul Jimenez(Wolverhampton / Mexico), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Frenkie de Jong(Barcelona / Netherlands national team), in the 2019 ranking – 10th place (-69)
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin(Everton / England), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Filipe Coutinho(Barcelona / Brazilian national team), in the 2019 ranking – 100th place (+19)
- Richarlison(Everton / Brazil), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Eden Hazard(Real Madrid / Belgium national team), in the 2019 ranking – 14th place (-69)
84.Dries Mertens (Napoli / Belgium national team), in the 2019 ranking – 78th place (-6)
- Thomas Partey(Arsenal London / Ghana National Team), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Jesus Navas(Sevilla / Spain national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Eduardo Kamavinga(Rennes / France), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Marcos Llorente(Atlético / Spain), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Ederson(Manchester City / Brazil national team), in the 2019 ranking – 40th place (-49)
- Antoine Griezmann(Barcelona / France national team), in the 2019 ranking – 25th place (-65)
- Robin Gosens(Atalanta / Germany national team), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Nicolo Barella(Inter / Italian national team), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Ever Banega(Al Shabab / Argentina national team), not included in the 2019 ranking
- Ferran Torres(Manchester City / Spain national team), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Alvaro Morata(Juventus / Spain), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Dominik Soboslai(RB Salzburg / Hungary), not includedin the 2019 ranking
- Jerome Boateng(Bayern / Germany), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Luis Alberto(Lazio / Spain), not included in the 2019 rankings
- Presnel Kimpembe(Paris Saint-Germain / France), not includedin the 2019 rankings
- Wissam Ben Yedder(AS Monaco / France), not includedin the 2019 rankings
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