Top 15 Players in World Football- Part 2
By: Anthony Henderson
Tags: Football, Euro 2020, Soccer, Euro 2021, Top 10

As the Euros and the Copa America are about to get underway, I thought it’d be a great time to write a list of my top 15 players in the world at the moment.

My criteria:

Highest peak over the last few years whilst still maintaining a similar level in the past season. For example, someone like a Cristiano Ronaldo who has had a very high peak in the past few years is not at this level anymore and this is not purely because of poor form.

For those who were injured all season like Virgil Van Dijk, they will be ranked for their play before they got injured (maybe a tiny bit less).

A player like Jesse Lingard who has had an amazing 2021 can’t be in the list because he has not proven he can do it for an extended period of time.

Based off the eye test mainly not stats since stats can be misleading

Trigger Warning!!- This may offend some fans.

10. Erling Haaland: Haaland just continues to get better and better. This season he got a whopping 37 goals in 36 games across Bundesliga and Champions League, also grabbing 8 assists in the process. He is a star centre forward but I just don’t think he’s quite as good as the others who go against tougher competition in harder leagues than the Bundesliga. In saying this, his finishing ability is next level and his positioning will put him in the position (no pun intended 😉) to score goals. Absolutely amazing talent who will only get better!! The fact he was the leading scorer in the Champions League puts him as high as 10th.

9. Ruben Dias: I know he’s only put together one quality season but boy can this man play. He single-handedly has put away talks of City’s poor defense. Judged Premier League player of the season this year, Ruben Dias was a massive part of City’s premier league and League Cup success. Ultimately, he was the best player on the best team. Such a solid player and he is still so young. His awareness particularly around the box is extraordinary and he also forced John Stones who has been called unreliable for years to lift his game and as a reward Stones was included in the Premier League Team of the Season. He even got named player of the season which I don’t necessarily agree with but I definitely think he’s top 2. Although he can improve, he has no big weakness. Thus, he is number 9 on my list.

9. Joshua Kimmich: Literally could not split Kimmich and Dias. Kimmich got 5 goals and 14 assists across 34 games in the Champions League and Bundesliga combined. He also was probably the 2nd best player in the Bundesliga behind a world class striker this season just as Dias was in the Premier League. But anyone that watches Joshua Kimmich knows his stats say very little for his value. He protects the back 4 of Bayern Munich unbelievably well and is an amazing passer. He is basically everything you want in a defensive midfielder. Such is his impact that in the 5 games he was out, Bayern Munich only won 2 of them! He was rewarded for his play last year where he was named in the World XI. The only thing holding him back is his lack of X-Factor which those above him have.

8. Neymar: A really tough one to rank. He only played 27 games across Ligue 1 and the Champions League scoring 15 goals and getting 9 assists. While these stats are great and he is a world class player at his best, I’m afraid his health issues prevent him from being any higher. His dribbling, playmaking and finishing however are absolutely brilliant. When him and Mbappe are firing, they’re unbelievably good. If Neymar were healthy and firing, I would definitely have him top 5 and potentially even top 3 but for now he has to remain in 8th.

7. Kylian Mbappe: What an absolute baller! 42 goals and 11 assists in 47 games for PSG this season. He’s so quick and skilful and full of quality. Big part of PSG’s success in recent years (despite being disappointing this season). Scored a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Champions League knockout stage this year delineating his quality. Will be a massive part of France’s Euro surge this year in the group of death. Expect him to tear apart some quality full backs and give opposition coaches headaches. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for him in the future.

6. Kante: Super controversial one here!! The football world seems to be split on how good Kante is. Some say he’s the best player in the world as demonstrated by his man of the match awards in the second leg of the Round of 16, in bothsemi-finals and most importantly in the final. Others say he only had a good end to the season and is not even close to a top 10 player as shown by his 0 goals and 3 assists all season. In my opinion, both are partly right as I believe Kante is a world-class midfielder but he definitely wouldn’t be close to the top 15 without his late-season performances. However, I would argue that if someone can bring their team a Champions League title by easily being their best player in the big moments, they have to be up there with the best players in the world. Protects his defence unbelievably well and for this reason he is in my top 6.