"Bernardo can play incredibly well everywhere, give me a team, and he can play well there," he said. The 20-year-old shone in Ajax's run to the Champions League semis earlier in the year, earning him an $83 million move to Juventus, where he's quickly established himself a regular in the starting XI. You know you've got some player on your hands when he surpasses a scoring record held by Diego Maradona. So good has he been, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho — a man known for his defensive nous — wants to take him to North London, according to The Express. He also helped Liverpool with the UEFA Champions League in 2019, a feat that many prominent players have yet to accomplish. "Poetry in motion" is how you would describe Kevin De Bruyne playing football. He also has the club's second-highest pass completion percentage of 92.6% — a perfect fit. And the effect the Brazilian has had on the club has been quite astounding. After four seasons in and out of the starting line-up at Atletico Madrid, Thomas Partey has finally established himself as a regular feature in Diego Simeone's side. However, the Argentine has turned things around since his move to Paris Saint Germain and is enjoying the best spell of his footballing career. "He makes 100-metre sprints per minute, absolutely incredible.". He's still got plenty of time, but it's unlikely to be long until the Ballon d'Or sixth-place finisher leaves France for one of Europe's biggest clubs, such as Barcelona or Real Madrid, and firmly establishes himself as the sport's biggest talent since the emergence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Aguero is one of those players that has been so good for so long, that his greatness is often underappreciated. The 20-year-old ended last term as Ligue 1's top scorer with 33 goals in 29 games, and he's already got another five this term to set PSG on its usual course to domestic domination. Mbappe took the world by storm at the 2018 World Cup, where he finished with four goals and the Best Young Player award as France won their second-ever title. 5. Zinedine Zidane (France) However, 2019 has been a challenging year for the 27-year-old. What has made N'Golo Kante so great this year has been his ability to adapt. Gabigol was dubbed "Gabi-no-gol" by fans during his time at Inter Milan, after scoring just once in a year. Given his seal of approval from two of his country's most revered ever players, it is safe to say Havertz is on his way to great things. To come up with this list we’ve combined tangible information with subjective factors. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Lukaku has also formed a tasty partnership with Lauturo Martinez, which has proven enough to see Inter top the Serie A table midway through the season. Athlon's player rankings are just one of the features that appear in the 2020 Pro Football magazine. Pacy, direct, skillful, accurate, and strong, Sadio Mane is a defender's nightmare and one that may be about to fire Liverpool to its first Premier League title. Van Dijk told cameras he was "extremely proud to be in the same company as two of the greatest players to ever play" after finishing second, between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, in this year's Ballon d'Or standings. Not only has he been untouchable between the sticks, but he's also given Liverpool's defence a huge confidence boost, and the attack an extra outlet thanks to his sharp distribution. Jim Powell and However, given City is now third in the Premier League and trailing leaders Liverpool by 14 points, Guardiola may be wise to reinstate the 25-year-old. Account active It's the best start to a season the Italian has enjoyed his career and has seen his total with the Eagles soar past the century mark, and move him up to fifth in its all-time scorers list. Sign up for a daily selection of our best stories — based on your reading preferences. As we approach the end of 2019, ESPN have released the latest edition of their annual rankings: the ESPN FC 100. However, it's a small price to pay for offering such excellent coverage to Simeone's defence, which boasts the best record in the Spanish top flight, partly thanks to the 26-year-old midfielder. 1. Personal opinions from fans from all over the planet. This year he's been better than ever, thriving under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers, making himself the heartbeat of a Leicester team that has established itself title challengers once again. Let us not forget that Virgil Van Dyke was voted PFA Player of the Year, voted second FIFA best player of the year for the 2018/2019 season. His partnership down the right flank with teammate Jadon Sancho has been a thing of beauty, the pair so often combining to devastating effect in the final third. He's currently 44 off the leader Silvio Piola, who has 149, but if he continues to find the net the way he has done in 2019, he should have no problem breaking his countryman's record. Everything the Belgian does, he does with unmissable grace and elegance, making the beautiful game look easy and, well, beautiful. In recent years, it's been the opposite, as many fullbacks are revered for attacking qualities rather than defence. The greatest there ever has, and ever will be. Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director and the German national team's fourth all-time top scorer, Rudi Voller, described Kai Havertz as a "once in a generation talent," according to Bundesliga.com. Tottenham Hotspur has had three years of big changes, including a new stadium, a new manager, and an influx of $377 million worth of new players. "He is his successor. Last season wasn't too bad either, as he scored 40 and claimed the Bundesliga top scorer award for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time in the last six seasons. A clever recruitment drive which has included the acquisitions of Rui Patricio, Adama Traore, and Joao Moutinho, to name just a few, has been the secret to Wolves' ascension to the upper echelons of the Premier League and the Europa League. Since then, he's just gotten better and better. So far this season, he's scored another ten to take his total to 81 to 141 games for the club — the fastest any player in its history has hit that number. Fortunately for the Dutch champion, it was able to hold on to the talismanic Hakim Ziyech, despite confirming he would in-fact leave the club in the summer, according to the BBC. Such woes have been put behind him in recent months, however, and he's been back to his best for PSG, scoring eight times in his last 11 games, three which were the only goals in 1-0 wins for the French champion. The Uruguayan hitman has scored 25 goals, 12 of them which have come this term in what's been a strong start to the new campaign. Ranking is generated based on statistics from the last three years.. Every player has an index, which is calculated on the basis of goals scored, assists, shots and passes. Many a striker in the past has scored heaps in Scotland but then failed to replicate it elsewhere. Suarez recently said moving to David Beckham's new MLS franchise Inter Miami after his time at Barcelona is up is a "nice possibility," according to ESPN. Carlos Vela didn't just break the MLS record book during 2019, he tore it apart, burned it, and wrote his own version. It's not been Ronaldo's best year. Given Suarez's outstanding 2019, the Catalan club will be pulling out all the stops to make sure that day is as far away as possible. But fortunately for the Portuguese forward, his worst is generally better than most players' best. Check the progress of our 2016 class | 2015 | 2014 … and check out our Next Generation 2017 picks for the Premier League, Photographs by DZfoot, BackpagePix, Club Atlético Belgrano, EFE, EPA, Getty Images, Uwe Gruen/Hoffenheim, AMA/Getty Images, Rex/Shutterstock, Zuma Press/PA, FIFA, Tigres, Damir Krajac/CROPIX, Alamy, Daniel Reyes/Ecuafutbol, Reuters, Atromitos, Imago/PA, fotoBERNAMA, New Straits Times, José Alonso Paredes Sánchez, Agencja Gazeta, David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty, AP, Asian Football Confederation, Danubio FC and Championat Asia, Photographs by Adam Husein/Bobotoh.id, AE Josep Maria Gené, AFC, AFLO Sport, AFP, Alamy, BackpagePix, Bildbyrån Photo Agency, Caftanat, Chertanovo, Eleonora Cordara/InterYouth.it, EPA, FC Krasnodar, Frank W Githmark/Sarpsborg08, Getty Images, Nico Dewaele, Noelia Déniz, Per Kjærbye/Fodboldbilleder.dk, Pixsell/PA, Sportsfile, and Torkil Fosdal/FCK.dk, Available for everyone, funded by readers. He has unbelievable shot-stopping abilities and reactions coming to the rescue for Barcelona on more than one occasion over the year. The Dutch national team is enjoying a golden generation of talent coming through its ranks, and its brightest star is defender Matthijs de Ligt. Football teams and the club are willing to pay top USD for upping the odds of having a vectoring team. Level of competitiveness and unpredictability. One of those dozen was perhaps the best goal he's ever scored in his career too in the form of an audacious lobbed back heel against Mallorca. Using 2017-18 full-season data from football statistics website, Understat, Messi scores considerably higher in xG-build than some of the world's most … Life at Real Madrid hasn't gotten off to the start Eden Hazard would have hoped for after his $111 million move from Chelsea in the summer. Given the 26-year-old's start to life in Italy, it's easy to see why. Admittedly, England's free-kick hero hadn't had his best few months towards the end of his Tottenham career. ... "Haters will be haters, but Pogba is the World’s best player." The Italian's desire to keep the Dutch defender was much for the same reason he sought out Romelu Lukaku — he saw De Vrij as a key piece of his Inter jigsaw. Sancho gets most of the plaudits in front of goal, but Hakimi, mostly thanks to his devastating pace, has chipped in with more than his fair share, having hit six goals already this season. 15. However, having returned to full fitness over the summer, he's been back to his very best this term. Varane is strong in the tackle, quick, and possesses a sound footballing brain — something many current centre-backs lack. He's also excelled for his country this year — his three goals steering Algeria to win only its second-ever Africa Cup of Nations during the summer. In the three-and-a-half seasons that have followed, the Senegalese forward has developed into one of the most devastating attackers in world football. Eidur Gudjohnsen’s son, the new Paul Pogba and Barça’s Ansu Fati are among our 60 most talented players in the world born in 2002. Andres Iniesta left a huge void in Barcelona's midfield when he left for Japanese side Vissel Kobe in the summer of 2018. He was also excellent in the Eredivisie as Erik ten Hag's side won the Dutch top division for the first time in five years. Strangely, Mohamed Salah's debut season at Anfield did him no favors. The Frenchman was forced out of his natural deep-lying midfield position at Chelsea by Maurizio Sarri the last term and had to find a way to convert his game into a more attacking one. He also excelled at the Africa Cup of Nations in the summer, being named in the Team of the Tournament as Senegal finished as runners up to Algeria. Quality of the matches. It's best, however, is currently out on-loan with Borussia Dortmund. The Mexican forward has been involved in everything Nuno Espirito Santo's side has done well over the past 12 months. The best keeper in world football right now, Alisson won the inaugural Yashin Trophy at this year's Ballon d'Or awards, as well as both the Premier League's and the Copa America's Golden Gloves. The Egyptian hit 44 goals in all competitions during the 2017/18 campaign, winning both the Premier League Golden Boot and the PFA Player of the Year. He had a strong 2018/19 season, scoring 19 times and producing 17 assists as PSG won the Ligue 1 title, but has got off to an even bigger flyer this campaign, managing nine goals and 10 assists in just 22 games. Last updated on 31 July 2019 31 July 2019. Not Dembele. His excellent vision, acute eye for a pass, and skillful feet have seen him slot straight into the Barca starting XI following his move from Ajax. Best Fifa Football Awards 2019: Liverpool trio nominated for men's award. Magical. Georginio Wijnaldum is a well-rounded footballer. This year has been particularly brilliant, Barbosa finding the net 42 times in 55 games, firing Flamengo to both the Brazilian Championship and the Copa Libertadores — the latter in which he scored twice in the dying minutes of the final to earn his side a 2-1 victory over River Plate. The best example was against rivals Atletico at the start of December, when he produced two astonishing saves denying Mario Hermoso and Alvaro Morata from point-blank range, in turn earning his side a 1-0 victory. The Manchester City star missed a large chunk of last season through injury. 8. Patrik Andersson Former Sweden international who won 96 caps and played at the 1994 and 2002 World Cups Dimitar Berbatov Former Bulgaria international with 78 caps who played for Manchester United, Tottenham and Bayer Leverkusen among others Jay Bothroyd Forward who won one cap for England and is currently playing for Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in the J1 League in Japan Rune Bratseth Former Norway internation… Keeps a low profile at Real Madrid has an abundance of top-class full-backs at its disposal in Marcelo Dani! Start of 2019, very few people would have known the name Donny van de Beek his sights conquering. Since the move to Barcelona from atletico Madrid over at Stamford Bridge, he 's just gotten better better. Fc 100 than enough to prove his doubters wrong at Bayern Munich and Germany! In just 20 games Son Heung-min as well as in the world top 10 football! Europe continues to show his class the second [ Philipp ] Lahm. `` per,... 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