Into the top thirty now, and only two more posts to go! Numbers 20-11 will be featured tomorrow, and the top ten will be posted on Monday, just in time for the Ballon d’Or awards.
Just a reminder we’ve also included the total points awarded to each player based on KJ’s ranking system.
This is the eighth installment of the Footy Blog’s comprehensive list of the Top 100 Footballers in the World, as determined by some of the world’s leading football journalists (previous installments can be found here). The entire 19-person panel along with bios, and some background on how the names and their order was determined is here. Remember; if you’re on Twitter, be sure to include us in on your outrage by using the hashtag #footy100.
30. Eden Hazard (Lille and Belgium) – 93pts – The Ligue 1 player of the Year last season shows no signs of slowing. An excellent passer, Hazard is adept equally as an attacking mid and on the wing and has already drawn comparisons at 20 to both Messi and Ronaldo, but his specialty is creating chances. Seemingly destined for a big move in near future, Hazard is exactly that: a menace to back fours throughout Europe.
29. Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich and France) – 94pts – Currently the highest-rated player on a considerably talented Bayern side, Ribéry put his relative struggles under Van Gaal aside and is flourishing with current coach Jupp Heynckes. With eight goals and six assists already this campaign, Ribery is finally showing the promise Bayern fans were hoping to see after his move from Marseille in 2007.
28. Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan and Netherlands) – 119pts – Ranieri has put his faith in the Dutch playmaker as not “just a teammate, but a leader,” despite talk that Sneijder has yet to match the form that saw Inter win their spectacular treble in 2009-10. At 27, Sneijder is still one of Europe’s most sought-after midfield creators, particularly by an injury-racked Manchester United.
27. Mario Gómez (Bayern Munich and Germany) – 122pts – A striker in the mold of Gerd Müller, Gomez is currently doing the most difficult thing in football—scoring—and he’s doing it consistently, to the point where he’s averaging a goal a game with sixteen goals in sixteen in the Bundesliga and five in the Champions League. Man of the Match three times already this season, last year’s Bundesliga top scorer could match or even exceed last year’s league total.
26. Yaya Touré (Manchester City and Ivory Coast) – 126pts – The 2011 African footballer of the year—a rare achievement for a non-striker—is at 28 perhaps one of the best midfielders of his generation. Equally adept in creating space from the back and fearless going forward, Touré seems at times like a footballing polymath, running end to end, filling gaps, providing integral passes. Always a marvel to watch.
25. Luka Modrić (Tottenham Hotspur and Croatia) – 144pts – Tottenham’s Player of the Season last year, Modric is an enormously gifted artist, able to find space to aid Spurs’ considerable talent in attack. A Chelsea and Manchester United target, Modrić’s presence on any team can change the entire dynamic for the better. And he’s no less proficient for his country, as the second Croatian ever to be named to UEFA’s Team of the Tournament in 2008.
24. Dani Alves (Barcelona and Brazil) – 145pts – The right back everyone loves to hate, Alves’ talent in defense, whether completed tackles, clearances or interceptions, in addition to his assistance in attack, is among the best in the world. When he’s not waging a war of words, he’s reminding haters why he plays for one of the best teams in the world.
23. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona and Spain) – 146pts – At 23 years of age, Busquets arrived on the scene with Barcelona fairly recently in 2008, only to become an instantly recognizable presence on the club, skilled at breaking up opposition attacks with the deftest ease. In that time though he’s won a World Cup and received prestigious national honours. One of the world’s most skilled defensive midfielders.
22. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany) – 148pts – Ten clean sheets in seventeen games this season for Bayern, Neuer is the Bayern record holder for the most consecutive goalless minutes, beating out Oliver Kahn. Voted Best Bundesliga Player of 2011, Neuer’s maturity in handling a controversial move from Schalke has demonstrated why he is Germany’s number one. And he’s just 25 years old. Already one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
21. Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala and Cameroon) – 152 pts – with 21 goals for Inter last season, the Cameroonian forward once again proved he’s among the world’s best. While many football fans sneered when he made a big money move to Anzhi Makhachkala, he’s kept up his professional approach by scoring eight goals in eleven appearances.
I’m really not a fan of Sergio Busquets but that may be biased by the fact he may be the worst diver in Professional Football.
I think he’s too high on the list. Alonso below him? Laughable to me.
Busquets is no way the 23rd best player on the planet, if he doesn’t have Xavi and Iniesta around him he would not even be a top 100 player.
Agreed. He looks out of place and when Xavi and Iniesta aren’t there to carry the play. He’s definitely overrated because he’s on Barcelona. A top defensive midfielder but not a top player.
I watch every Barça game and the position for Busquets is totally justified. He is a vital part of the Barça system, reading the game superbly and rarely giving a bad pass. He might not give as many assists as Xavi but his passing success is pretty similar. Seeing the list from 21-100 there are still 6 Barça players who look like making the top 20, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas should all make top 10, but where will you put Villa and Piqué? Personally I wouldn’t have either in the top 20 at the moment.
Agreed. I’m also an avid Barca watcher, and Biscuits/VV are two of the most underrated players in world football IMO. busquets is just class. without Xavi/Iniesta, sure, he’s different. But Xavi isn’t the same without Iniesta/Busquets, and Iniesta is different without Xavi/Busquets. That game works for anyone.
trophies don’t lie
This is a list of the top FOOTBALLERS in the world, not top TEAMS. Trophies are won by a team and not an individual. Without Barcelona and his teammates, there’s no way he’s in the top 50 let alone top 30. 23rd best player in the world? Joke.
wow Wesley Sneijder at 28.. speaking of midfielders, there are still some English(eg Lampard), German(Ozil,Schweinsteiger) and of course Spanish(Xavi,Iniesta) to come and I had Sneijder right in that group in the Top 20..
There are many questionable decisions dude, and this was supposed to be the ranking based on the entire year, and snidjer was on top in CL and domestic. He deserves top 10. But then again, if the panel hot everything right we won’t be talking bout it.
Lampard? What have you been drinking?
lol first English midfielder I could think of.. but yeah he’s done for some time now.. maybe Gerrard.. they gotta include somebody from England besides Rooney
LOL Gerrard? Really? Now that’s delusional.
Dani Alves is only 24. I saw him being top 20 at least. This top 20 is going to be amazing.
Busquets should be top 20.
Mario Gomez better than Karim Benzema lmfaoooooo. ALso, shgame on these people if Wilshere doesn’t make this list.
Pretty sure everyone knows Gomez is better then Benzema…
gomez is better…. i mean 99% of the goals he scores are rebounds, but hes better.
Really? I wouldn’t say shame on the writers involved with the list if Wilshere doesn’t make it… He has been out of action for so long and even though when he was fit, he was very good, was he a top 100 player? I could include him in a top 50 midfielder list perhaps… I have no problem with Jack Wilshere being ranked the 101st best footballer in the world. I don’t think the list is meant to rank potential. He may indeed rocket into the top 20 next year, but as of now, I doubt he will be there. That being said, I would be delighted to see him in the top 20 here now :)
wilshere is not on that list yet. hasnt done anything internationally and he only has a season under his belt. im a gooner too, and doesnt deserve to be there.
gomez benzema argument is debatable. gomez is more a finisher than benzema, but benzema’s link up play might top 5 in the world for a striker.
LOL Wilshere on this list? Do me a favour…
DaG, based on the last year, which I think is the criteria, I think it’s hard to argue that Gomez has done more as a striker for club and country than Benzema.
interesting to see the larger point gaps in this ten. numbers 29-28 and 26-25 are some of the biggest jumps so far. mario gomez’s ranking is a good illustration of how much differance a year can make. gomez is one of europe’s top in-form strikers this year
Busquets higher than Xabi Alonso is a complete joke.
Not really. He’s often picked ahead of Alonso for the Spanish NT. I think some people still don’t realise how good Busquets is. Best one touch player in the world according to Xavi. High praise indeed. Neuer and Gomez too high for me Dani Alves too low. Also I think Gotze is better than Hazard personally.
When the heck has Busquets been chosen above Xabi Alonso for Spain?
I personally don’t give a damn what Xavi says, obviously he’s going to praise a teammate.
For me Busquets is one of the most overrated players on the planet.
You’d have to think
Messi
Xavi
Iniesta
Pique
Ronaldo
Ozil
Casillas
Rooney
Vidic
Suarez
Silva
Aguero
Van Persie
Neymar
Schweinsteiger
Zlatan
Thiago Silva
are 17 of the final 20
who are the other 3?
just thought Fabregas must be one, possibly Gerrard?
not sure the final 2
Fabregas for sure. Ba?
Ba doesn’t make it. KJ confirmed that on the pod, I believe.
Suarez > van Persie? On what planet do you live? He has been by far the best striker in the epl over the past 12 months.
Those aren’t ranked in order I was just listing names to be in the top 20. Suarez won the copa america MVP and been Liverpools most important player along with Leiva for the year of 2011. It’s not like Van Persie is inarguably better than Suarez.
i did mine too to see if they were gonna leave out fabregas. i wouldnt be surprised if they did.
i think David Villa and Handanovic are missing. he’s arguably the best keeper in italy
i’m missing one
Dont know about busquets, and sneijder should be top 20 but tom you think lampard should be somewhere here? haha thats a joke, decent mid at best, overrated.
Cavani also in the final 20 probably, one more hmmmmm
it looks like from that list it’s Cesc, Cavani and Villa. I’m pretty shocked Neymar made the top 20. To put him ahead of guys like Etoo Bale Robben and Ribery is not right.
are you serious?? why are manuel neuer and wesley sneijder so low??!
What has Sneijder done this year to earn even this position? He’s past it, IMO.
Busquets is a good player, top 30 tho, i’m not so sure. There are people lower then him that are better. I do hate him however for his diving
Anyone throwing Lamps and Gerrard’s name around here has to be on drugs. Neither’s been fit for a year now.
cavani, definitely.
DI Natale is better than alot of these players. He should have been higher
How bout Chiellini maybe being on the list as well? He hasnt been mentioned yet (i dont think) and i dont see how Lugano can make the top 100 n Chiellini cant
theres no waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay busquets or alves are better than modric, not now not ever. in fact both of them should be lower than the magnificent yaya toure. that’s the first problem i’ve had with this list, except for samir nasri’s bewilderingly low placement in the 90s
how do you write this about toure (whom I despise as a Manchester United fan):
one of the best midfielders of his generation. Equally adept in creating space from the back and fearless going forward, Touré seems at times like a footballing polymath, running end to end, filling gaps, providing integral passes. Always a marvel to watch
if according to your results he is lower than busquets (for whom the note reads:
One of the world’s most skilled defensive midfielders.
thats something written about every defensive midfielder on this list, and duh, its the top 100)
i wasnt going to mention alves, but i want to point out he’s not worth discussion. as for modric, he’s maybe a top 5 definitely top 10 Premier league player, so seeing the new scottish league aka la liga players that are not named messi, iniesta, xavi, puyol, ronaldo, and perhaps ozil, (but not pique) ahead of him, is sickening.
LA LIGA IS THE LEAGUE WHICH CONSISTS OF EUROPES TOP 10 OR 15 TEAMS AT GIVING THE BALL AWAY, THE MOST INTERCEPTIONS OCCUR IN THIS LEAGUE, OF COURSE OF COURSE OF COURSE BUSQUETS DEFTLY BREAKS UP ATTACKS, WITH THE EXCEPTIONS OF TWO TO FOUR GAMES IN THE LA LIGA HE’S PLAYING AGAINST OPPOSITION NOT WORTHY OF SNIFFING LEAGUE ONE JOCKSTRAP, TO QUOTE THE GREAT ANGLOHATE ROY HUDSON
you are a english premier league homer and it’s obvious
I’m not sure if this reply is trolling or not.
well said, but don’t pull down la liga that far. Just crap on bosquets instead
i forgot to mention david villa in one of the la liga players i wouldnt mind above modric. one of the greatest strikers of our generation
right now? Modric is the better player Villa was in the midst of a down year by his standards and now has a broken leg
Villa, Cavani and Fabregas = good shouts
Despite some oddness in the rankings of certain players (Alves in top 25, you’ve got to be kidding!), the 100 players have all been worthy of appearing on the list. My only question: was this meant to cover 2011 calendar year, or only since August, or???
Regardless, it’s been an interesting read.
Am I the only one shocked that Arjen Robben is ranked 31st? Sure he’s been injured the last half year or so, but when he’s on form he shows displays of skill and talent very few players can match
take sergio busquets over yaya toure, over xabi alonso and almost every midfielder in this top 100 is crazy. If the person who made this list would take sergio over all the worlds best midfielders, then quite frankly his team would look like Wigan. -_-
di maria is ten times the player busquets is.
probably going to get some hate for this but i’m just slightly surprised that ryan giggs hasn’t made the list so far (and likely won’t when you consider it’s possible to name 17/18 names pretty easily that seem like they’re impossible to leave off).
i’m not affiliated to any club except arsenal partly i guess (seeing as how i’ll watch them on motd every other week or so) and if i had the option then barcelona would be the team i’d pay to see play for obvious reasons.
however, that doesn’t change the fact that in my opinion he pretty much was the main driving force (together with rooney) behind united’s achievements last year and even though his 2011/12 season hasn’t been awesome i’d say it’s possible to make a relatively strong argument that he’s maybe still united’s best performer right now and since they’re 2nd in the epl they can’t be that bad.
anyway, that’s my 2 cents worth even if i’m not holding my breath about seeing it validated on here – for example he’s way, way better than a couple of the up-and-coming midfielders further down the table?
also – anyone know if van bommel has been playing much for milan this season and at what type of level?
this is about what i’m expecting 1 through 20 will most likely look like: 1 messi, 2 c ronaldo, 3 xavi, 4 silva, 5 casillas, 6 iniesta, 7 van persie, 8 schweinsteiger, 9 villa, 10 aguero, 11 rooney, 12 pique, 13 fabregas, 14 zlatan, 15 suarez, 16 neymar, 17 vidic, 18 ozil, 19 cavani, 20 thiago alves, wild card: al-saadi gaddafi.
(fyi in an ideal world i’d place giggs at around the 14-16 range and bump everyone else down a place.)
disclaimer: i don’t have access to la liga, serie a or bundesliga games so i’ve done some guess-timating based on all that i read, uefa co-efficients and ucl games which i’ve seen for players from those leagues (same goes for neymar although gaddafi i’m sure of – his name precedes him, big time…).
Giggs? Are you Giggs’ son? GET OUT with that nonsense.
b.u.s.t.e.d – from his brother’s wife though so keep this ish on the dl fool!
steven gerrard’s father i presume?
Julio Cesar is 1 more that is likely too make it at expense of Neymar
I admit I was wrong about Ribery, but I’m glad my prediction of still seeing Hazard held up. No way I would have rated Sneijder this high. That’s a rating based on reputation from two years ago moreso than on his current form.
Its shaping up to be a great list and is giving me a totaly new view of players on some top teams and other mid range teams especially in england since that is the league i see most. Being an Arsenal fan though the first thing i wonder when i read about some of these players I havent seen much of, is if I would prefer them on the team over some of the players on arsenal that didnt make the list. For example I cant imagine that the dude from shaktar would be an inprovement over Sagna, or M’via or boateng being better for us than Song and Wilshere. Not necasserly because they are worse but because how we view a player is very situational. things like how good the team is, how good the league is, how well a players strenghs match the playing style in that league, etc effect how a player rates. Berbatov was top scorer in the prem last year but since didnt get playing time for awhile and cuz hes considered lazy hes not on the list,but obviously if he was still at tottenham playing every game hed be on here if van der vaart can get on here. wilshere, gerrard injurys. Torres, shitting the bed. What about valencia on man u?
also interesting to see last years top 50 serie A list had Cavani 1, Sanchez 2. And on this list Pastore and di natale are both rated higher. So Pastore moved to paris and got better or is Sachez worse now that he is on barca? SITUATIONAL!
will SUAREZ make the list ?
Racist Busquets waaaaay too high on the list. No way is he better than Xabi Alonso, Modric or Yaya Toure – and those are only midfielders. Saying he is the 23rd best player in the WORLD? I can’t take this seriously. The list so far has been good but this is laughable. He wouldn’t even make my top 50.
WHERE IS MATEJA KEZMAN !!!!!!!!!! ????????
No seriously.. where is he? Last I heard he was wearing 99 in Ukraine. Perhaps in reference to how many years it will take him to put a ball in, nay, a shot on the net.. in UKRAINE
Kezman played for BATE Borisov in the past group stage of the CL.
haha busquets @ top 25 on this list. This is a laughing matter…I dont see much in him. What I do see is him playing on the best team in the world which may appear like he is one of the best DM’s just because he is surrounded by top talent footballers. Aside from this, I’m pretty disappointed that no one even gave a bit of hope to include talented players in the Portuguese League such as Moutinho, Gaitan, Maxi Pereira, Alvaro Pereira, Luisao…
I shouldnt lie,busquets is a bit too high on the list. Mario gotze is one of the
Best strikers in the word, he SHOULD be higher.
no way possible busquets is better than modric. and the people saying lampard on the list, do you watch football. sneijer should be higher. Top ten midfield
In the world? He should be higher. Busquets better than yaya toure.
Lol but it is good that we disagree on the list. get more people to talk.
Not trying to troll. A fan of yours dunlop. But c’mon …
Quality shite. That’s all this is. But pure quality.
Were not gonna see David Villa on this list. He’s no f’ing good.
I don’t think Pepe has any idea how to choose a front man because Barca could win with me up front. Same goes for Spain. Mediocre strikers. From before the last euros which they one. Neither of those teams relies on their front man for much at all.
Back to Pepe. Sell Etoe for Ibra and get hosed. Buy Henry? Then Villa. Whatever..
The arguement is a certain style of football but realistically they could do it with me.
I’m gonna hurt seeing Villa anywhere close too RVP.
RIP.
I believe to be on the list, you must be (a) subject to transfer rumours (b) played games covered extensively by english media (c) play for Barcelona.
My example for not fulfilling the criteria is Toni Kroos from Bayern. German international? Check, 24 games. Scored in CL? 2, like Ribery and Rooney. Respected by peers? Check, Ribery stated publicly he wants him as 10 instead of Müller. (Kroos is the better playmaker, Müller is better at right offensive midfield.) Still at 22 he is at the same level as Götze.
I believe to be on the list, you must be (a) subject to transfer rumours (b) played games covered extensively by english media (c) play for Barcelona.
My example for not fulfilling the criteria is Toni Kroos from Bayern. German international? Check, 24 games. Scored in CL? 2, like Ribery and Rooney. Respected by peers? Check, Ribery stated publicly he wants him as 10 instead of Müller. (Kroos is the better playmaker, Müller is better at right offensive midfield.) Still at 22 he is at the same level as Götze.
So… I’d say for the top 20 in the world: 1) Messi, 2) Iniesta, 3) Xavi, 4) Ronaldo, 5) David Silva, 6) Robin van Persie, 7) Carlos Tévez, 8) Rooney, 9) Thiago Silva, 10) Ibrahimovic, 11) Sergio Agüero 12) Dani Alves, 13) Neymar, 14) Fàbregas, 15) Mesut Özil, 16) Edison Cavani, 17) Ángel di María, 18) John Terry, 19) Luis Suárez, 20) Ganso.
You heard it here first.