THE top 100 footballers in the world have been named – and Cristiano Ronaldo is nowhere to be seen.
With 2023 now drawing to a close, FourFourTwo have compiled a list of the most influential players from the last year.
The likes of Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel Martinelli, James Maddison, Virgil van Dijk and Son Heung-min have all been included in the top 100, but five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo has missed out.
Despite scoring 34 goals and providing another 12 assists in 41 appearances for Al-Nassr since joining the club on a free transfer in January, the Real Madrid legend is no longer viewed as one of the best in the world.
However, his long-time rival Lionel Messi is still at the top of his game.
Messi, who won his record-breaking eighth Ballon d’Or in October, has been named as the sixth-best player in the world by FourFourTwo following his success with Argentina at the World Cup.
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The 36-year-old led his country to World Cup glory at the end of 2022, winning the Golden Ball award in the process.
He joined MLS side Inter Miami in June after leaving Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent and has since scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 14 appearances.
Several Manchester City stars have also been named in the top 100, with John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Rodri among the top 20 players.
Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka narrowly missed out on a spot in the top 10, finishing 11th, while Declan Rice was named as the 20th-best player in the world.
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Vinicius Jr, Antoine Griezmann and Mohamed Salah have been named among the ten best players in the world, with Kylian Mbappe narrowly missing out on the top three.
England captain Harry Kane is considered the third-best player in the world thanks to his record-breaking year.
The 30-year-old striker became Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer in February, surpassing Jimmy Greaves’ record.
And just one month later he went on to become England’s top goalscorer.
Kane left Tottenham to join Bayern Munich in a £104million transfer in August and has since smashed several Bundesliga records.
In just 15 league appearances he has scored a whopping 21 goals to put him on course to be 2023’s top scorer, with 52 goals.
Another player that has impressed for his new club this season is Jude Bellingham, who is considered the second-best player in the world.
Bellingham, 20, joined Real Madrid in a huge £115m transfer from Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the transfer window.
Despite playing primarily as a midfielder, he is currently leading the La Liga Golden Boot race with 13 goals in 15 appearances.
The England international narrowly missed out on the top spot to treble winner Erling Haaland.
Haaland joined Man City last summer and had no problems adapting to the Premier League.
He scored 52 goals in 53 games across all competitions during his first season at the Etihad and won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
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He also broke the record for the most Prem goals scored in a single season, surpassing Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.
As for Ronaldo, he is considered not worthy of a place ahead of a fellow veteran Sergio Busquets, who came 100th, Atletico’s Nahuel Molina in 99th or Porto keepr Diogo Costa in 98th.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
