THE TOP TEN FOOTBALLERS IN THE WORLD

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On the face of it, this should be an easy list to put together.

Fifa has just presented Lionel Messi with World Player of the Year trophy after a vote by captains and head coaches of 208 national teams around the globe. And who should know better than them?

The voting went as followed. 1. Messi 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Xavi'  4. Kaka'  5. Andres Iniesta. So there’s the top 5 then.

Trouble is, some of the picks are hard to fathom. For instance, England’s John Terry had Michael Ballack in second place. Some would argue that he’s not even the second best player at Chelsea, let alone, in the world. The representative from Saudi Arabia is obviously a Chelsea fan too as his top three went Terry, Ballack and Essien, while the man from Macau went with Gerrard, Villa and Eto’o.

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion but perhaps they can be swayed by outside influences? Friendship, team mates, not considering names of players they’ve never faced or even not voting for players they simply don’t like on a personal level.

Another gauge could be the Fifa / FIFPro World XI which is selected by 50,000 fellow professionals. They went for Casillas in goal, a backline of Alves, Terry, Vidic, Evra, a midfield made up of Gerrard, Xavi and Iniesta with Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Torres up front. It is, without doubt, a wonderful side but it’s picked on a positional basis as opposed to pure performance regardless of formation.

So what about the latest Castrol rankings? Admittedly, this only takes in to account the top 5 leagues in Europe but pretty much everyone who counts is therefore included. The latest list has Thierry Henry on top followed by Messi, Ronaldo, Torres, Pique, Solado, Villa, Puyol, Alves and Arshavin.

Hmm, perhaps it’s not as easy as we first thought. Indeed, it might be best if we forget all the experts, the current pro’s and the administrators and leave it down to us mere football fans to have our own say. Granted, personal likes and dislikes, loathing, favouritism, blind faith or pure hate will all play a part here but it should be fun nonetheless.

So, today we are asking you to answer this question. Who, regardless of their position on the field, are the top ten players in the world as of today?

Publish your choices by using the comment function below and let’s see how Footy Boots fans compare to the established order.


Felipe
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92 Comments

  • 1. Messi
    2. Torres
    3. Ibrahimovic
    4. Ronaldo
    5. Xavi
    6. Gerrard
    7. Iniesta
    8. Kaká
    9. Rooney
    10. Etoó

    Reply

  • 1. Messi
    2. Ronaldo
    3. Fabregas
    4. Iniesta
    5. Xavi
    6. Gerrard
    7. Kaka
    8. Arshavin
    9. Rooney
    10.Drogba (Even though a don’t like Chelsae much) lol

    Reply

  • Looking at the list, it really seems that the game is only about attacking and scoring goals. But when you think about it, some players really dont get the credit they deserve.

    Let’s take Real Madrid for example. One of the most underrated players, Lass Diarra, surely he’s got to fit in there somewhere on the list. He was the backbone in the Los Merengues squad, mr. consistent, performing at the very top level every night (last and this season), doing the dirty work. There’s no doubt that this season he has been more important to Los Galácticos than Kaká. But, of course, it’s the gimmicky moves that make it to youtube and top ten lists.

    Reply

  • 1. Messi
    2. Ronaldo
    3. Torres
    4. Drogba
    5. Fabregas
    6. Xavi
    7. Kaka
    8. Gerrard
    9. Iniesta
    10. Anelka

    This list is rather hurried and the order perhaps a little mistaken. I do think however that Fabregas deserves a good mention judging from his performances this season and Anelka has to be considered after winning the EPL Golden Boot last year

    Reply

  • Top 3
    1.Messi
    2.Ronaldo
    3.Ibrahimovic

    Not sure about Ibra as #3 but hes definately top 5 in my opinion, weird that so few have him in their top 10’s..

    Reply

  • 1) messi
    2) Ronaldo even tho he’s a flamer
    3) drogba
    4) fabregras
    5) xavi
    6) ibrahimovic
    7) iniesta
    8) alvez
    9) arshavin
    10) Henry

    Reply

  • u gt to have the barca front 3 and xavi and iniesta in there somewhere

    messi
    xavi
    iniesta
    ronaldo
    gerrard
    eto
    drogba
    torres
    henry
    fabregas

    Reply

  • 1. Lionel Messi
    2. Cristiano Ronaldo
    3. Xavi Hernandez
    4. Andres Iniesta
    5. Fernando Torres
    6. Ricardo Kaka
    7. Francesc Fabregas
    8. Frank Lampard
    9. Steven Gerrard
    10.Wayne Rooney

    Reply

  • 1. Ronaldo
    2. Messi
    3. Xavi
    4. Torres
    5. Ibrahimovic
    6. Iniesta
    7. David Villa
    8. Arshavin
    9. Puyol
    10. Rooney

    (Casillas, Gerrard, Kaka, Lampard, Fabregas, Terry, etc. all come close)

    Reply

  • everyone has offensive in mind but its players like dani alves that really make teams like barca go. he is all over the field offense and defense and feeds balls up front and doesnt get much credit. he deff deserves to be in the top 10. he is playing out of his mind right now

    Reply

  • Best 10 right now

    1.Ronaldo
    2.Ibrahimovic
    3.Messi
    4.Drogba
    5.Fabregas
    6.Rooney
    7.Xavi
    8.kaka
    9.Gerrard
    10.Aguero
    close but no cigar… Pato,Balotelli,Dunne,Milito, Puyol,and benzema

    Reply

  • Pato? pato is not even 20 yet and isn’t close to the level of ronaldo or messi.And it seems most of the lists here have either ronaldo or messi in the #1 position, Regardless…

    1.Ronaldo-more complete than messi. e.g. shoots with weak foot, free kick taker, shoots anywhere on the field, faster,bigger,stronger,
    consistent performer…

    2.messi-no doubt about it, messi is a extraordinary player, but problems with the argentinean squad make him #2 for me

    3.kaká
    4.Iker casillas- best goalie in the world
    5.ibrahimovic
    6.xavi-the assist king
    7.fabregas-great current form
    8.lassana diarra-great form for madrid lately
    9.puyol-great defender, knows how to do defence
    10.rooney-united’s new hitman

    and people lets stop living in the past. Henry may have been the best, but he is nowhere near that form he had with arsenal and that shameful act of blatant cheating make him off my top 10 list.

    Reply

  • 1-messi
    2-ronaldo
    3-torres
    4-iniesta
    5-gerrard
    6-xavi
    7-ibrahimovic
    8-kaka
    9-drogba
    10-essien

    but i think the best (balanced) team wud be

    ——–julio cesar
    maicon-vidic-puyol-a.cole
    ———-essien
    —–iniesta—gerrard-
    messi—-torres—-ronaldo

    or sumting like dat nyway

    Reply

  • To make this fair positionally, I’ll do my top 3 attackers, top 3 midfielders, and top 3 defenders. I’ll put in my top goalkeeper to complete the top 10. Here we go:

    Attackers:
    1. Messi
    2. Ronaldo
    3. Rooney

    Midfielders:
    1. Xavi
    2. Fabregas
    3. Essien

    Defenders:
    1. Puyol
    2. Alves
    3. Abidal

    Goalkeeper:
    1. Casillas

    Reply

  • being worlds best player isi’nt about scoring the most goals, but understanding the game and to have good ball controll!
    1. messi
    2. ronaldo
    3. iniesta
    4. torres
    5. dani alves
    6. xavi
    7. fabregas
    8. rooney
    9. ibrahimovic
    10. casillas

    Reply

  • 1.Messi/Ronaldo (they are both so good its indistinguishable)
    3.Fabregas
    4.Rooney
    5.Torres
    6.Xavi
    7.Drogba
    8.Kaka
    9.Evra
    10.Iniesta, Alves,or Giggs

    Reply

  • 1. Ronaldo
    2. Messi
    3. Ibahimovic
    4. Iniesta
    5. Drogba
    6. Kaká
    7. Dani Alves
    8. Sneijder
    9. Xavi
    10.Vidiç

    Reply

  • cw 2194 had it right,
    it’s best to sort them by position. But I’d go with

    Attackers:
    1. Messi
    2. Luis Fabiano
    3. David Villa

    I didn’t put C. Ronaldo in because he is a biaaattttccchh.
    Midfielders:
    1. Fabregas
    2. Kaka
    3. Xavi

    Fabregas was captain of Arsenal at how old?
    Defenders:
    1. Alves
    2. Sergio Ramos
    3. Terry

    Daniel Alves being the most expensive defender in soccer must mean something.

    Goalkeeper:
    1. Tim Howard

    It’s my American duty to throw his name out there.

    There’s too many good players out there to list.

    Reply

  • 1. Messi
    2. Ronaldo
    3. Iniesta
    4. Kaka
    5. Torres
    6. Villa
    7. Rooney
    8. Gerrard
    9. Xavi
    10.Giggs

    i think pato is one for the future, along with aguero, but giggs pips no.10 because of his consistency over the years, his accomplishments, professionalism and is the ideal footballer. @ greg, just because argentina aren’t doing too well, doesn’t mean messi isn’t better than ronaldo IN 2009. messi has won every club trophy he can pissibly win, defied critics and deserves to be best player of 09. 2010 may be ronaldo’s year-perhaps the rise of pato, and with a game against man utd, what a game to kick start his charge…soo many greats have never been to the world cup e.g. best…and so many great players in our generation

    Reply

  • To be honest and trying to be unbias, looking at peoples opinions that ronney is better than torres is completely shocking!

    My top 3:

    Strikers: Torres, Drogba, Ibrahimovic

    Wingers: Messi, C. Ronaldo, Ribery

    Midfielders: Gerrard, Iniesta, Essien

    Full backs: D. Alves, Maicon, S. Ramos

    Centre Backs: Puyol, Terry, Agger (Vidic has been shocking this season)

    Keeper: Casillas, Reina, Given

    Reply

  • 1 – Messi
    2 – C. Ronaldo
    3 – Iniesta
    4 – Fabregas
    5 – Puyol
    6 – Xavi
    7 – Dani Alves
    8 – Ibrahimovic
    9 – Casillas
    10 – Torres

    Reply

  • 1.Messi
    2.C.Ronaldo
    3.Ibrahimovic
    4.Xavi
    5.Iniesta
    6.Kaka
    7.Casillas
    8.Pique
    9.Gerrard
    10.Puyol(just gotta include him, love this lad so much, he is being underrated, not even in 442’s top 100 when Vidic is something in twenties, but he’s one of the best)

    Reply

  • 1. Ronaldo / Messi (too even)
    2. Iniesta
    3. Xavi
    4. Ibrahimovic
    5. Torres
    6. Puyol
    7. Rooney
    8. S.Ramos
    9. Cassillas / Given (equal for me)
    10.Ribery

    Reply

  • Come on guys where the hell are the likes of Valencia, Ferdinand, Lassana Diara, (Some of your lists do not even contain Fabregas!)

    1. Fabregas
    2. Messi
    3.Valencia
    4. Torres
    5. Ibrahimovic
    6. Ferdinand
    7. Lassana Diara
    8. Benzema
    9. Iniesta
    10. Cech

    Reply

  • not exactly a list but

    GK – Petr Cech

    LB – Evra
    CB – Ferdinand
    CB – Puyol
    RB – Rafael

    LM – Ronaldo
    CM – Valencia
    CM – Iniesta
    RM – Messi

    CF – Torres
    CF – Ibrahimovic

    My Top 11

    Reply

  • 1. Cristiano Ronaldo
    2. Kaka
    3. Didier Drogba
    4. Fernando Torres
    5. Luis Fabiano
    6. Dani Alves
    7. Cesc Fabregas
    8. Ricardo Carvalho
    9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
    10. Landon Donovan

    Reply

  • 1. Messi – a better player than CR9 allround
    2. C.Ronaldo
    3. Kaka
    4. Xavi
    5. Iniesta
    6. Torres
    7. Fabergas
    8. Henry
    9. Ferdinard
    10. Gerrard

    Reply

  • i am SOOO agree with Jaspi, players like lass deserve to get more respect. i think that is why he is the one wearing no.10 among those galacticos stars.

    about messi… messi is good, really really damn good. but he’s kinda sucks on the national team, and one more thing… hello people? he’s playing in barca. like the best team in the world. he got the best support he could ask for. i’d like to see if he’s still perform that good if he’s playing for other club.

    Reply

  • 1. Cristiano Ronaldo
    2. Wayne Rooney
    3. Fernando Torres
    4. Leo Messi
    5. Nemanja Vidic
    6. John Terry
    7. Patrice Evra
    8. Didier Drogba
    9. Ryan Giggs
    10. Steven Gerrard

    Reply

  • There is no doubt that Ronaldinho is the best in the world. He has been the best of the decade so all those players like Messi,Ballack,and much less Ronaldo can be compared to Ronaldinho.

    Reply

  • Sorry for the long list, couldn’t help it 🙂

    1. Lionel Messi
    2. Cesc Fabregas
    3. Cristiano Ronaldo
    4. Wayne Rooney
    5. Kaka
    6. Xavi
    7. Didier Drogba
    8. Iker Casillas
    9. Fernando Torres
    10. Zlatan Ibrahimavic
    11. David Villa
    12. Dani Alves
    13. Nemanja Vidic
    14. Lassana Diara
    15. Steven Gerrard
    16. Andres Ineiesta
    17. Thierry Henry
    18. Petr Cech
    19. Carlos Puyol
    20. Samuel Eto’o
    21. Robin Van Persie
    22. Michael Essien
    23. Andrey Arshavin
    24. Xabi Alonso
    25. Francisco Totti

    This list was mostly determined by determined by the players performances this year, but there are some listed that are being held back because of injuries and etc.

    Reply

  • How come people include Kaka. He is not playing good for Real this season at all. The problems with top ten, it’s very easy to forget people like Essien, Giggs, Alves, Drogba

    Attackers (have to be fast and smart and have that instinct)

    1. Messi
    2. Ronaldo
    3. Drogba
    4. Rooney
    5. Villa
    6. Torres

    Midfielders (have to be strong, smart and good control)

    1. Iniesta
    2. Xavi
    3. Essien (strong as hell. Got powerful legs)
    4. Giggs ( i don’t know where he fits in but needs a place here)
    5. Lampard
    6. Evra
    7. Ribery
    8. Gerrard

    Defenders:

    1. Alves
    2. Puyol
    3. Terry

    Keeper:
    1. Casillas
    2. Tim Howard
    3. Victor Valdes

    Reply

  • Messi impresses me every time I watch him play, I have to put him at 1.
    I can’t place Ronaldo high because every time I watch him, he falls over a blade of grass and then scores on an undeserved free kick, it just doesn’t impress me.
    The rest is hard, there are so many great players.
    Rooney
    Fabregas
    Buffon
    Owen
    Gerrard
    Xavi
    Torres
    Kaka
    Puyol

    Reply

  • 1.Henry (when he played for Arsenal)
    2. Ibrahimovic
    3.Messi
    4.Ronaldo (when he played for man u)
    5. Rooney
    6. Fabregas
    7. Torres
    8. Totti
    9. Eto
    10. Drogba

    Reply

  • 1.torres
    2.messi
    3.ronaldo
    4.iniesta
    5.xavi
    6.gerrard
    7.lampard
    8.kaka
    9.dzeko
    10.ibrahimoviç

    Reply

  • I dont understand why the hell is Ronaldo 1st.. Cuz he is not even close to messi…
    My list-
    1.Messi
    2.Fabregas(a star in the making)
    3.Xavi
    4.C.Ronaldo
    5.Gerrard
    6.Lampard
    7.Iniesta
    8.David Villa
    9.Samuel Eto’o
    10.A.Pato
    11.Terry
    12.Didier Drogba
    13.Iker Casillas or Petr Cech
    14.F.Torres
    15.Ibrahimovic

    I have seen that every body just luvs strikers and wingers..
    but the cm’s and dm’s dont get much credit. i blive that they are better than Forwards. And most #1’s in the list is covered by messi and ronaldo only becuz they are forwards.

    Reply

  • Everyone who votes C. Ronaldo as the best player in the world watches too much Youtube and has never actually seen him play. He is a good player, but hell fall over if someone in the crowd sneezes. He deserves no respect for that.
    1.Messi
    2.Casillas
    3.Rooney
    4.Terry
    5.Kaka
    6.Schweinsteiger
    7.Muller
    8.Robben
    9.Puyol
    10.Zlatan

    Reply

  • I cant believe none of you guys included the #1 fullback in the world……Phillip Lahm. Anyways
    1.Messi
    2.Xavi
    3.Torres(when hes in good form)
    4.Lahm
    5.Robben
    6.Iniesta
    7.Rooney
    8.Villa
    9.Ribery
    10.Drogba

    Reply

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