Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup finalist Luka Modric was named the best player in world football in a report from The Guardian in December, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi coming in second and third respectively.
There has been some huge changes compared to last season’s standings, with Neymar dropping down to 11th, while the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah move up the ranks dramatically.
It is claimed that a panel of 225 experts from 69 nations have come together to crown their best 100 male players in world football, and their are some interesting picks, to say the least.
In 2017, Lionel Messi claimed top spot, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar taking the top three spots.
Here’s the full-list from 1-100. Do you agree with the following picks? Any choices stand out?
- Luka Modric
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Lionel Messi
- Kylian Mbappe
- Mohamed Salah
- Antoine Griezmann
- Eden Hazard
- Kevin de Bruyne
- Harry Kane
- N’Golo Kante
- Neymar
- Raphael Varane
- Ivan Rakitic
- Luis Suarez
- Sergio Aguero
- Paul Pogba
- Sergio Ramos
- Marcelo
- Sadio Mane
- David Silva
- Edinson Cavani
- Toni Kroos
- Roberto Firmino
- Virgl Van Dijk
- Philippe Coutinho
- Paolo Dybala
- Jan Oblak
- Isco
- Ivan Perisic
- Robert Lewandowski
- Raheem Sterling
- Mauro Icardi
- Mario Mandzukic
- Diego Godin
- Samuel Umtiti
- Christian Eriksen
- Thibaut Courtois
- Gareth Bale
- David de Gea
- Hugo Lloris
- Romelu Lukaku
- Casemiro
- Alisson
- Ter Stegen
- Dele Alli
- Dries Mertens
- Marco Reus
- Karim Benzema
- Giorgio Chiellini
- Sergio Busquets
- Miralem Pjanic
- Jorginho
- Blaise Matuidi
- Edin Dzeko
- Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
- Kalidou Koulibaly
- Leroy Sane
- Lorenzo Insigne
- Ederson
- Gianluigi Buffon
- Saul Niguez
- Marco Asensio
- Fernandinho
- Jordi Alba
- Jordan Pickford
- Keylor Navas
- Joshua Kimmich
- Bernardo Silva
- Lucas Hernandez
- James Rodriguez
- Benjamin Pavard
- Kieran Trippier
- Ciro Immobile
- Thiago Silva
- Thomas Meunier
- Leonardo Bonucci
- Marcos Alonso
- Son Heung-Min
- Harry Maguire
- Kyle Walker
- Gabriel Jesus
- James Milner
- Gerard Pique
- Memphis Depay
- Ante Rebic
- John Stones
- Denis Cheryshev
- Diego Costa
- Matthis de Ligt
- Gonzalo Higuain
- Willian
- Frenkie de Jong
- Lucas Torreira
- Gonzalo Martinez
- Nabil Fekir
- Axel Witsel
- Olivier Giroud
- Hirving Lozano
- Mesut Ozil
- Jose Maria Gimenez
In terms of how the judges voted, 35% of those picked Luka Modric as the best player in world football, while 21% chose Lionel Messi and just 15% opted for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The World Cup has clearly had a huge influence on the top 100 list, with the likes of Kieran Tripper, Benjamin Pavard and Ante Rebic all making an appearance predominantly because of this summer’s competition.
Here’s the judges vote in full:
