Top 10 Soccer Players in the World

Date: August 8, 2021

By: Jimmy Bliss

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The world of soccer has never had a deeper talent pool. The talent disperses into all top five European leagues, with England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France all claiming at least one player in the top 10. Each and every one of these players has the ability to win any game for their team, whether they score the game-winning goal, provide a game-winning assist, or preserving a one goal lead by executing a last-ditch tackle to perfection. So without further ado, here are the top 10 players currently playing “the beautiful game.”

No. 10: Mohamed Salah (Forward, Liverpool/Egypt)

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Merseyside’s superstar winger has taken the world by storm ever since leaving Roma for Liverpool in the summer of 2017. Mohamed Salah currently holds the Premier League record for most goals in a 38-game season, with 32 in his first year at Anfield. Fast forward four years later, and he is a Premier League champion, a Champions League winner, a two-time Premier League Golden Boot award winner, as well as a two-time African Footballer of the Year. At 29, Salah is showing no signs of slowing down, and Liverpool supporters should expect to see him perform at a high level for the remainder of his Reds’ career.

No. 9: N’Golo Kante (Midfielder, Chelsea/France)

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Soccer’s most likeable player is one of the best Premier League midfielders of all time. N’Golo Kante won the Premier League with Leicester City in 2015/16 and has only gotten better with age. Since switching to another club in blue, this time with Chelsea, he has won the Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the World Cup. Standing at just 5-foot-6, he may be short in stature, but he has an enormous impact on the outcome of each game he plays in.

No. 8: Erling Haaland (Forward, Borussia Dortmund/Norway)

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As soon as Erling Haaland scored nine goals in a U20 World Cup game against Honduras, the soccer world knew they had a budding superstar. He followed that performance up by scoring more goals than making appearances at Red Bull Salzburg, scoring 17 goals in just 16 appearances, including scoring 10 goals in eight matches in the Champions League in 2019/20 with Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. However, that’s just the start of his soccer journey.

Haaland has since scored 27 goals in 28 games in his first full season in the Bundesliga, as well as scoring another 10 goals in eight matches in the Champions League for Borussia Dortmund. At just 21, the legend of Haaland is just getting started, and it will continue to grow every time he steps on the pitch.

No. 7: Kylian Mbappe (Forward, PSG/France)

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Just ahead of his counterpart of Halland sits fellow wonderkid Kylian Mbappe. Similarly to the aforementioned Haaland, Mbappe exploded onto the scene in the Champions League, taking down a Pep Guardiola led Manchester City side in 2016/17. He scored two goals with AS Monaco prior to his move to PSG in the summer of 2017. With PSG, he’s scored 78 goals in 80 appearances, with 21 coming in the Champions League. But most impressive of all is his four goals, including one in the final of the 2018 World Cup triumph with France.

His versatility to play as a left winger, a striker and as a right winger keeps defenders guessing and gives opposing managers constant headaches. If he stays on the same trajectory he set forth for himself, the 22-year-old may rival Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo among the greatest players of all time.

No. 6: Kevin De Bruyne (Midfielder, Manchester City/Belgium)

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Watching Kevin De Bruyne in Manchester City’s midfield is like watching poetry in motion. He simply knows what to do with the ball every time he receives it. He’s widely regarded as the world’s best midfielder and has been for the past few years. De Bruyne’s ability to create chances for teammates, as well as taking the chances provided to him, is what sets him apart from others.

Having 52 goal contributions in 60 games over the past two Premier League campaigns is astonishing for a midfielder, even for his standards. De Bruyne’s a three-time Premier League champion with Manchester City and also has five league cups and one FA Cup in five seasons. Expect to see De Bruyne dominate opposing midfields for the next few seasons.

No. 5: Neymar Jr (Forward, PSG/Brazil)

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There isn’t a better skiller in the world than Neymar Jr. He has a God-given ability to dribble around defenders and make them look silly in the process. It may result in an injury here and there, but when he’s on the field, there’s no denying his talent.

Since moving to the French capital in the summer of 2017, Neymar has scored 56 goals in 70 league games, while playing predominantly as a left winger. Midway through the 2020/21 campaign, PSG transitioned to a 4-2-3-1 formation, playing Neymar as an attacking midfielder instead. This utilizes his dribbling ability to perfection, as well has his second-to-none vision and passing abilities. Neymar has been a true joy to watch since his days at Santos and continues to be one of the world’s best as a 29-year-old superstar.

No. 4: Virgil van Dijk (Defender, Liverpool/The Netherlands)

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Liverpool’s defensive woes are a thing of the past, thanks to Virgil van Dijk. The Dutch center back has the best defensive instincts I’ve ever seen, with the ability to tackle the opposition with ease. Couple that with his speed, strength and passing ability, and you’ve got yourself the best defender in the world.

No wonder Liverpool’s defense struggled so much when he got injured. No knock against Liverpool’s other defenders, but the likes of Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Nathaniel Phillips couldn’t hold a candle to Van Dijk. With a Champions League medal and a Premier League trophy under his belt, I envision another few trophies being lifted by the Dutch giant before he calls it a career. 

No. 3: Cristiano Ronaldo (Forward, Juventus/Portugal)

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Perhaps the world’s most recognizable athlete, Cristiano Ronaldo is still a goal scoring machine at the age of 36. He’s put the ball in the back of the net 81 times in 97 appearances for Juventus. Not bad for supposedly being on his last legs. In the 2020/21 club season, Ronaldo made 44 appearances, scoring 36 goals and registering five assists, which is good for a goal contribution every 91 minutes of play. Not to mention that he won the Golden Boot at EURO 2020 despite only playing four games, with an impressive tally of five goals and one assist.

However, the most impressive moment in a Juventus jersey for Ronaldo may well be his headed leap of eight feet and five inches in a headed goal, against Sampdoria in Dec. 2019.

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The photos are even more astonishing than words alone, as Ronaldo looks superhuman floating in the air. Ronaldo is in the twilight of his career but is still one of the best in the game today.

No. 2: Robert Lewandowski (Forward, Bayern Munich/Poland)

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Robert Lewandowski’s goal scoring production has gone under the radar for some time now. But it’s time that he is rightfully recognized as the second-best player in the world, and as the world’s best striker. Fresh off winning the Champions League in 2019/20, Lewandowski may have been content with coasting through the Bundesliga and going on a victory lap with the rest of Bayern Munich’s squad. But unfortunately for defenders, this was not the case. He broke the record for most goals scored in a Bundesliga season, scoring 41 goals in just 29 games.

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The previous record was held by Gerd Muller for 49 years, as he scored 40 goals in 34 games. If not for an injury Lewandowski sustained in April, the Bayern superstar would have scored even more goals, further proving himself as the best number nine in the world. With a new, more attacking manager taking the reins at Bayern Munich in Julian Nagelsmann, Lewandowski’s production is set to skyrocket.

No. 1: Lionel Messi (Forward, ?/Argentina)

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What’s left to say about Lionel Messi? In a year that many journalists claimed to be disappointing for Messi, he scored 30 goals and provided nine assists in 35 games in La Liga. In those 35 games, he won 22 Man of the Match awards, with an average rating of 8.52. Compare that to the aforementioned Robert Lewandowski, who picked up 11 Man of the Match awards and had an average match rating of 8.07 in 29 games, it goes to show how dominant Messi truly is. 

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On the international stage, Messi scored four goals and provided five assists in seven matches in the Copa America this summer, including winning the trophy with his native country, Argentina. No one in soccer’s history comes close to Messi’s ability on the ball. It’s almost as if there is a string tied around the ball and his cleats every time he steps on the pitch. Messi’s sense of control is simply out of this world. Not only is he a great dribbler, but his passing ability is also the best in the world. Messi can spot open players and perfectly deliver the ball to them in a moment’s notice.

There will never be another player like Messi in the history of men’s soccer. He’s the best there ever was, is, and ever will be.

Jimmy Bliss can be reached at james.bliss@student.shu.edu.

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