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. Koulibaly was named Serie A's best defender for the 2018/19 season as Napoli pushed Juventus right to the last day in the race to the Scudetto. This is a list of the most prolific footballers from around the world. "[Mertens] was born to be a striker," said Maradona after learning the Belgian has beaten his tally, while also encouraging the club to extend his contract at the San Paolo Stadium, according to Goal. One of the world’s finest players for several years, the 32-year-old moved to another level across 2019 and 2020, inspiring Bayern Munich to a domestic … "He does everything with the ball.". Top 5 Richest Footballers in the World 2021 This post contains the list of top 5 richest footballers in the world, and their net worth, salaries of wealthy soccer players that play in top football clubs in Europe as of 2021 according to Forbes and Goal. © 2021 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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. Strangely, Mohamed Salah's debut season at Anfield did him no favors. 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. In 2019, the Argentine has managed 33 goals in all competitions for City, helping it win a domestic treble, including the Premier League. The role of the full-back has changed dramatically over the past decade. But the Dutchman need not worry, as his performances over the last year have put him firmly in the same bracket as the Argentine and the Portuguese. For each of the last five seasons in La Liga (including the current one), Jan Oblak has been the leading clean sheet keeper in the division. Mbappe has already the World Cup before turning 20, He has won the Ligue 1 title, he has been named Player of the Year for 2019, and was France’s top scorer with 33 goals in all competitions. 5. MLS All-star; MLS Best XI; Player of the Month three times; Most Valuable Player; Golden Boot — Vela's year has been remarkable. Garry Blight, From Vinicius Júnior, who has already signed for Real Madrid, to 'the Romanian Donnarumma' the Guardian identifies 60 of the best players in the world born in 2000. But while others are making noise, the Frenchman is going about is job week-in week-out, unassumingly, but excellently. In just 18 games this term, Gnabry has 10 goals, four of which came in one game against Tottenham in the Champions League, and seven assists. 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. "Poetry in motion" is how you would describe Kevin De Bruyne playing football. In recent years, it's been the opposite, as many fullbacks are revered for attacking qualities rather than defence. Iniesta himself has even given the Dutchman his seal of approval, calling him "exceptional," according to Tribuna. Nine of those have come this season, the most out of any keeper in the country, as he and Atletico look to push Barcelona and Real Madrid to the title. 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. Admittedly, England's free-kick hero hadn't had his best few months towards the end of his Tottenham career. "I am still tired just looking at Robertson," Jose Mourinho told The Guardian after watching the flying Scotsman dismantle his Manchester United side back in December 2018. In-game fans’ atmosphere. He also won the PFA Player of the Year. 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. The Dutch youngster outshone some of the best midfielders on the planet — Toni Kroos, Miralem Pjanic, and Thiago Alcantara included — in last season's Champions League as Ajax enjoyed a thrilling ride to the semi-finals. 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. 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. But fortunately for the Portuguese forward, his worst is generally better than most players' best. Conte has bought the best back out of the bruising Belgian, helping him score 10 times in just 15 Serie A games, which is the quickest any striker in the club's history has reached that total. Best Fifa Football Awards 2019: Liverpool trio nominated for men's award. 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. 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. The easy way to check the best players in the world. The Englishman, who has perfected the art of being in the right place in at the right time in the six-yard box, has scored an impressive 33 times in 2019 — the most he's ever managed, by some distance. 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. All rights reserved. The 24-year-old won Bayern's Player of the Year award last term thanks to a 13 goal and nine assist return, and he could be en route to claim the prize for a second year running thanks to his blistering start to the 2019/2020 campaign. Messi is nicknamed “The Flea” for his diminutive stature, Messi is the world’s best soccer player. After last year's phenomenal Champions League run, Ajax saw a number of its biggest talents, including Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, pawned off for big bucks. He had the added pressure of seeing Nampalys Mendy, the man whom the Foxes had originally signed to replace Kante, failing to do the business. Since moving back to his home country of Brazil in January 2018, though, the 23-year-old has firmly removed the acrid adlib from his nickname. 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. Angel Di Maria's career time looked up after his failed spell at Manchester United in the 2014/15 season. Gnabry was outcast by Arsenal, and then told my West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis he was "not at the level" of Premier League football, according to The Evening Standard. Level of competitiveness and unpredictability. ", Those were the words of former Bayern Munich and West Germany midfielder Paul Breitner, as per Bundesliga.com. Kimmich has created 14 goals this year for Bayern, scored three times, and, most importantly, provided the German champions with excellent defensive coverage down the right flank. While he might not have hit the net as many times, he was still an integral part of Liverpool's run to Champions League glory and managed to retain his Golden Boot. As we approach the end of 2019, ESPN have released the latest edition of their annual rankings: the ESPN FC 100. 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. 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. Liverpool's Andy Robertson's ability to do both so effectively makes him the prototype for a new wave of fullbacks that are likely to dominate the game in years to come. since, “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention”. whom MARCA said his "crossing is akin too.". Check the progress of our 2018 picks | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014, Thu 10 Oct 2019 10.00 BST Dembele's credentials were doubted when he was with Celtic despite his phenomenal scoring record. For example: 1. Let's have a look at the top 10 greatest soccer players of all time and see who is the Best Soccer Players in the world. Silva's game time has been reduced this term due to the return from injury of Kevin de Bruyne and signing of Rodri. 15. "[Kimmich] has everything to be the second [Philipp] Lahm. You'll rarely ever see him the news, he seldom does interviews, and his social media accounts are, quite frankly, boring. Country footb… But, all the analysis we provide the most popular 25 up best football players in 2019. But since the move to Spain, he's rediscovered his best form and more. "He makes 100-metre sprints per minute, absolutely incredible.". This year, he's been no different, scoring 40 and assisting 17, guiding Barcelona to the 2018/19 La Liga title, as well as to the top of the league this term. Lothar Matthaus, Germany's highest ever appearance maker, agreed, saying of the 20-year-old: "He plays with passion, he's spontaneous, he's very quick, scores goals, his distribution's good, he really works for the team – and all that at such a young age.". Mahrez might play more of a bit part for Manchester City than he did during his time at Leicester, but when given a chance, he still shows every ounce of quality that convinced City to pay $79 million for his signature in July 2018. Talent production. His form prompted rivals Borussia Dortmund to come calling, where, since his $28 million summer move, he's continued to impress. Fortunately for Juve, when Chiellini does decide to call it time, he has one of the world's most talented youngsters alongside him. 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. Whilst many of his peers of yesteryear have either moved on or retired, the Argentine has still managed to keep up his outrageously high-performance levels amongst a new, and vastly more inexperienced, roster. FFT100 Our annual list of the world's 100 best male football players is here! Winning Manchester City's Player of the Year award is no easy feat, but Bernardo Silva's brilliant performances last season saw him do just that. 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