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The 100 best footballers in the world Football

This article is more than 2 months old

The 100 best male footballers in the

world 2023
Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023
by our 218?strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second
2022 F 2021 F 2020 F 2019 F 2018 F 2017 F 2016 F 2015 F 2014 F 2013 F 2012
Meet the judges F Best female footballers to launch in January

Marcus Christenson, Garry Blight, Seán Clarke, Steven Bloor and Pamela Duncan
Fri 22 Dec 2023 10.12 GMT

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All players

1 Erling Haaland
Age 23

Team Manchester City / Norway

1
Position Forward 2 3 4
Rank 4 2022 ▲3
Erling Jude Kylian Harry Kane
Haaland Bellingham Mbappé Bayern Munich
A new era has
Manchester City begun and for now,
Real Madrid at least, it belongs to Erling
Paris Saint3Germain Haaland. The
relentless striker has scored 50 goals for club and country so far in 2023, delivering
Manchester City a treble and the Champions League holy grail in his first season.
Highlights included a five-goal haul against RB Leipzig and two crucial strikes
against Bayern Munich as he became the youngest player to reach 40 goals in
Europe’s top competition. This season Haaland has proved his phenomenal start to
life in England was no statistical freak, taking his City goal tally to 71 inside 18
months. A hulking on-field presence with an outrageous turn of pace, it is easy to
forget Haaland is only 23. He is the youngest player to top our annual men’s poll,
5 6 7 8
and the first plying his trade in the Premier League. He is also a clear winner of our
list – 146 judges put him top, with another 40 panellists awarding him second
Rodri Vinícius Mohamed Kevin De
place. Niall McVeigh
Manchester City Júnior Salah Bruyne
Real Madrid Liverpool Manchester City

2 Jude Bellingham
Age 20

Team Real Madrid / England

Position Midfielder
9
Rank 14 2022 ▲1210 11 12

Victor Lionel
Our No 2 this year is not DiegoMessi Bernardo
Maradona. He’s Silva
not Zinedine Khvicha
Zidane either. Or
Osimhen Inter Miami Manchester City Kvaratskhelia
Cristiano Ronaldo. Or Alfredo Di Stéfano. He is, though, a man who has been
Napoli Napoli
compared to all of them, and favourably. Man? An “extraterrestrial”, Leonardo
Bonucci called him. Must have big pockets, because he has managed to fit the
entire Santiago Bernabéu inside. His goal celebration, arms wide, has become
iconic and often imitated, not least because it has been so often repeated, his
goalscoring start to his Real Madrid career better than anyone else’s, ever. “He’s a
gift for football,” the coach, Carlo Ancelotti, says. It is an understatement. Twenty-
one judges had him top and 211 of our 218 voters had him in their top 40. And he is
only going to get better. Sid Lowe
13 14 15 16

Lautaro Bukayo Saka Antoine Ilkay

3 Kylian Mbappé
Martínez Arsenal Griezmann Gündogan
Internazionale Atlético Madrid Barcelona
Age 25

Team Paris Saint-Germain / France

Position Forward

Rank 2 2022 ▼1

The last 12 months have seen Mbappé consolidate his place among the sport’s elite
–17 18 captaincy, became
he was handed the France 19 Paris Saint-Germain’s
20all-time top
scorer, and was named Ligue 1 player of the year for the fourth consecutive season.
Robert
The now-yearly summer Martin
contract showdown Julián Álvarez
with his Jamalthe
employers meant Musiala
Lewandowski
forward was sidelined Ødegaard
from the first-team at Manchester City
the start of BayernOnce
the campaign. Munich
he
Barcelona
returned, though, heArsenal
picked up where he left off and continued to score at a
blistering pace, averaging more than a goal per game in the league. But another
standoff with the club looms large, and Mbappé’s potential involvement in the
Olympics is increasingly likely to be his send-off from his home city. Raphaël
Jucobin

421 Harry Kane22 23 24

Rúben
Age Dias
30 Declan Rice Ederson Son Heung?
Manchester
Team City Arsenal
Bayern Munich / England Manchester City min
Tottenham
Position Forward

Rank 13 2022 ▲9

An ever-present on the list since 2015, Kane has reached his highest position, his
instant impact at Bayern Munich impressing the judges. Remarkably, he already
has more Bundesliga goals than last season's joint top scorers, Christopher Nkunku
and Niclas Füllkrug, having scored 18 in his first 12 league games. After Kane had
netted
25 twice against Galatasaray
26 in November,
27his manager, Thomas 28Tuchel, said:
"I can't tell you anything more than I did at the start of the season. His
Luka Modric his goal
performances, John
ratio,Stones Cristiano
his games, they Gavi
tell the story. No more words
Real MadridHis time at Tottenham
needed." ended withRonaldo
Manchester City Barcelona
the team in disarray as Antonio
Conte's reign blew up. Did it stop Kane from Al3Nassr
scoring though? Of course it didn't. He
still got 32 in all competitions in 2022-23. Marcus Christenson

5 Rodri
Age 27

29
Team 30 / Spain
Manchester City 31 32
Position Midfielder
Nicolò Barella Rafael Leão Fede Valverde Pedri
Rank 53 2022 ▲48
Internazionale Milan Real Madrid Barcelona

He does not dominate the headlines like some of his more glamorous teammates,
but Rodri may be Manchester City’s most important player. The Spain midfielder is
the team’s heartbeat, a precise cog that turns the gears in Pep Guardiola’s trophy-
winning machine. It is Rodri’s distribution and ball-winning abilities that have
allowed his manager more flexibility, from the swarming high-tempo passing that
suffocated Real Madrid to the sweeping counters that sank Arsenal. City are simply
not the same force without Rodri in the control room. Not all his best work is
behind the scenes, though – it was his instinctive strike that broke the deadlock in
33 34 35 36
a fraught Champions League final, the highlight of a breakthrough year that sees
him soar from outside
Rodrygo the top 50 all the way
Marc?André into the top five. Niall
Alisson McVeigh
Karim
Real Madrid ter Stegen Liverpool Benzema
Barcelona Al3Ittihad
6 Vinícius Júnior
Age 23

Team Real Madrid / Brazil

Position Forward

Rank 8 2022 ▲2
37 38 39 40
“Probably the best player in the world,” in the words of Jude Bellingham. The most
Kim Min?jae Leroy Sané Thibaut William Saliba
fouled player in Spain last season, partly because he was the most feared. An
Bayern Munich Bayern Munich Courtois Arsenal
electric, explosive attacker whom Carlo Ancelotti joked, was “crying for hours”
Real Madrid
when he was surprisingly left out of the shortlist for The Best. No one dribbled
more, and only Antoine Griezmann assisted more, although injury has meant a
slower start this season. The focus of repeated racist abuse, he has also taken it
upon himself to lead the fightback, confronting supporters, clubs and even the
president of La Liga, forcing change. Sid Lowe

741 Mohamed Salah

42 43 44

Phil
Age Foden 31 Bruno Eduardo Virgil van Dijk
Manchester City Fernandes Camavinga Liverpool
Team Liverpool / Egypt
Manchester United Real Madrid
Position Forward

Rank 10 2022 ▲3

Liverpool rejected an astonishing £150m offer from Saudi Arabia side Al-Ittihad for
their leading goalscorer last summer, despite the 31-year-old having only two years
remaining on his contract, and have been thoroughly vindicated by the striker’s
response. Salah scored 30 goals in the 2022-23 season, maintaining his phenomenal
45 while the team’s 46
level dipped, and his prolific47 48
form has fuelled Liverpool’s revival
as title challengers this term. The Egypt international recently registered his 200th
Kyle Walker
Liverpool Emiliano
goal in his 327th Achraf
appearance for Jürgen Hakimi
Klopp’s side andFlorian Wirtz
has overtaken
Manchester City as the Martínez
highest goalscorer for Paris Saint3Germain Bayer Leverkusen
Thierry Henry an English club in European
Aston Villa
competitions. He remains fundamental to Liverpool’s prospects. Andy Hunter

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49 50 51 52

Jack Grealish Olivier Giroud Joshua Dominik

Manchester City Milan Kimmich Szoboszlai
Bayern Munich Liverpool
8 Kevin De Bruyne
Age 32

Team Manchester City / Belgium

Position Midfielder

Rank 6 2022 ▼2

53 54 55 56
Despite being out injured since August, the brilliant Belgian holds on to a top-10
Gabriel Joskorole
place after playing a crucial Gvardiol Hakan
in City’s 2022-23 treble campaign.Ronald
De Bruyne Araújo
led
Martinelli
the Premier League with 16 assists
Manchester Calhanoglu
Cityand struck up a deadly connection with Erling
Barcelona
Haaland, setting up the striker 13 times in all
Arsenal competitions. De Bruyne saved his
Internazionale
best moments for the heavyweight games, scoring three and setting up two against
Arsenal, assisting both goals in the FA Cup final – and, best of all, a clinical
equaliser that turned the tide at the Bernabéu in the Champions League semi-
finals. Unfortunately an early injury robbed him of the chance to play a bigger role
in the final. The creative spark in City’s slick machine, De Bruyne continues to
make the extraordinary seem routine. Niall McVeigh

57 58 59 60
9 Victor Osimhen
Trent Yassine 'Bono' Alexis Mac Bruno
Alexander? Bounou Allister Guimarães
Age 24
Arnold Al3Hilal Liverpool Newcastle
Liverpool
Team Napoli / Nigeria

Position Forward

Rank 52 2022 ▲43

Sometimes it feels as though the only opponent capable of slowing Osimhen down
is his own body. He missed six Serie A games through injury last season, started
another two on the bench, and still finished as the competition’s runaway
61 62 63 64
capocannoniere with 26 goals. It was a similar story in the Champions League,
where he scored fourAndré
times inOnana
three knockout games but saw his team eliminated
Federico Kieran Victor
because they lost theManchester
one matchUnited
in which he could not play. Named as the African
Dimarco Trippier Boniface
Footballer of the Year after firing Napoli to aNewcastle
Internazionale first Scudetto in 33 years,
BayerOsimhen
Leverkusen
might still not have shown us his ceiling. Nicky Bandini

10 Lionel Messi
Age 36

Team Inter Miami / Argentina

65 66 67 68
Position Forward
Germán
Rank Cano
1 2022 ▼9 Xavi Simons Marcus Luis Díaz
Fluminense RB Leipzig Rashford Liverpool
Manchester United
This year was always going to be a comedown after Messi’s World Cup triumph in
2022. But he still made an impact as he shunned a move to Saudi Arabia and
headed to Inter Miami. He duly brought back memories of Pelé’s time in the US,
selling out stadiums across America. Messi transformed a Miami team that were
bottom of their conference, leading them to the Leagues Cup, the club’s first ever
trophy. How much that said about Messi’s remaining skills and how much it said
about the quality of Major League Soccer is an open question. It is the first time the
brilliant Argentinian places outside the top three on our list since the start in 2012.
69 is one of only six ever-present
He 70 players and71 72
has finished first a remarkable six
times. Tom Lutz
Frenkie de Toni Kroos Kaoru Mitoma Serhou
Jong Real Madrid Brighton Guirassy
Barcelona Stuttgart
11 Bernardo Silva
Age 29

Team Manchester City / Portugal

Position Midfielder

Rank 29 2022 ▲18

73 74 75 76
Standing at 5ft 8in and as slight as a featherweight, it perhaps makes little sense
Álvaro Morata
that Silva Álex
makes the first XIGrimaldo Santiago
of this athletic list. Randal
He is fairly one-footed Kolo
and may lack
Atlético Madrid
pace but, incredibly, Bayer play right wing,Giménez
he canLeverkusen No 10, holding midfield Muani
and even left-
Feyenoord Beloved byParis
back for the treble winners and European champions. Saint3Germain
his teammates,
manager and fans, he is a Swiss army knife of a footballer: versatile but
indispensable, discreet but incisive. Silva has perhaps been underappreciated in
the past but no more, he is an elite talent in a modest shell, knitting everything
together for City and Portugal with guile and finesse. In our voting he missed out
on the top 10 by a single point. Michael Butler

77 78 79 80
12 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
James Darwin Núñez Alessandro Romelu
Maddison
Age 22 Liverpool Bastoni Lukaku
Tottenham Internazionale Roma
Team Napoli / Georgia

Position Winger

Rank 40 2022 ▲28

No player will ever be adored quite like Diego Maradona in the city of Naples, but
take a stroll through the city’s Spanish Quarter and you might see more street art
devoted to Kvaratskhelia than any other member of 2023’s title-winning team. The
81
Georgian 82
winger’s unassuming 83 for only €10m from
backstory – signed 84 Dinamo
Batumi – and audacious creativity struck a chord from the start in a city that has
David
alwaysAlaba
identified withEnzo
the underdog. Twelve Ángel
goals Di
andMaría Mike the
10 assists forced Maignan
rest of
Real Madrid
Italy Fernández
to take note, earning “Kvaradona” lastBenfica
season’s Serie A’s MVPMilan
award and a
Chelsea
place on the Ballon d’Or shortlist. Nicky Bandini

13 Lautaro Martínez
Age 26

Team Internazionale / Argentina

85
Position Forward 86 87 88
Rank 70 2022 ▲57
Gabriel Jesus Aurélien Alexander Cristian
Arsenal Tchouaméni Isak Romero
The knock on Martínez was
Real always that he alternated
Madrid Newcastle prolific patches with
Tottenham
frustrating goal droughts. But what if those dry runs dried up? Internazionale’s
captain is outscoring his closest Serie A rivals this season by almost two to one. He
already raised his game during the previous campaign, leading the Nerazzurri to
within one game of a cup treble. Delivering consistently on the big stages, he found
the net in the Supercoppa, Champions League semi-final and Coppa Italia final.
Life was supposed to get tougher with Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko leaving in
the summer. Instead, Lautaro looks better than ever. It is his fifth consecutive year
in
89the top 100 and his highest
90 ever finish. Nicky
91 Bandini 92

Jan Oblak Loïs Openda Antonio Riyad Mahrez

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Atlético Madrid RB Leipzig Rüdiger Al3Ahli
Real Madrid

14
93 Bukayo Saka
94 95 96

Granit
Age Xhaka22 Marcelo Theo Alphonso
Bayer Leverkusen Brozovic Hernández Davies
Team ArsenalAl3Nassr
/ England Milan Bayern Munich
Position Winger

Rank 22 2022 ▲8

A move up by eight places from last year for Arsenal's dynamic winger who has
played in a Euros, a World Cup and reached 200 games for his club despite turning
22 only in September. His 14 league goals and 11 assists in 2022-23 helped Arsenal
back into the Champions League after a six-year absence and he ended the season
97
scoring 98for England. “The more
his first hat-trick 99 you play, the wiser 100you get and
the smarter you get – there are things I can definitely improve on,” he told the
Denzel
Guardian in August. AnOllie Watkins
even better Saka? AWarren Zaïre?
frightening Marcus
thought for left-backs
Dumfries Aston Villa
everywhere. Paul Chronnell Emery Thuram
Internazionale Paris Saint3Germain Internazionale

15 Antoine Griezmann

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