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The year is 2030, Lionel Messi is retired on a beach somewhere, and he’s still winning awards as the world’s greatest player.
That was the feeling at the 2024 Best FIFA Football Awards in London when the Inter Miami star took home the main prize.
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The award, for the best player in the world in 2023, saw many of the voters take Messi’s 2022 World Cup heroics into account.
That’s ignoring the fact he was knocked out of the Champions League and Coupe de France at the last 16 stage, only won Ligue 1 by a point from Lens, and then was injured for much of Inter Miami’s disastrous MLS campaign where they finished 27th out of 30 teams.
Here at talkSPORT, we do things a little differently. And our ranking of the world’s best players is based on who’s the best right now, at the start of 2024.
It’s certainly understandable why there’s still so much love for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - two of the greatest to ever play the game - but what’s there to learn from living in the past?
Instead, football’s entering a new era, and 2024 looks set to finally be the year we move on from nostalgia about the Barcelona and Real Madrid legends battling it out in El Clasico six years ago.
Primed to take that mantle are Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, who have long been pencilled in as football’s new attacking rivalry.
However, they’ve been shown recently that despite their ridiculous scoring, it’s not going to be as simple as that.
The new generation of megastars looks set to be far less predictable.
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Here, talkSPORT looks at the best players in football right now.
25. Inaki Williams - Athletic Bilbao
It’s easy to be distracted by Girona’s title charge, but Athletic Bilbao sitting third in LaLiga would otherwise be the story of the season in Europe.
After years of closing the gap before dropping off, Athletic have landed one of the world’s most underrated coaches in Ernesto Valverde, and Inaki Williams is reaping the rewards.
A complete forward who can hurt the opposition with goals, assists and dribbles from up close and out wide, the 29-year-old would benefit any squad in the world.
24. Xavi Simons - RB Leipzig
Long pencilled in as a future great of the game, it looked like super agent Mino Raiola’s shuffling of Simons between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain was going to end up with wasted potential.
Thankfully, the Netherlands midfielder has put his career first to end up at Leipzig on loan, where expert talent developer Marco Rose is proving priceless once again.
A genius around the opposition box, the 20-year-old is racking up goals and assists in the Bundesliga and Champions League, and could well be one of the stories of Euro 2024 with the Netherlands in desperate need of a new main man.
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23. Yann Sommer - Inter Milan
Considered the best of the rest for much of his career, many goalkeeping experts were continually baffled that no one tried to poach Sommer from Borussia Monchengladbach earlier.
Bayern Munich finally did exactly that last season in response to Manuel Neuer’s skiing accident, and while things didn’t quite work out for a shambolic Bayern side, Inter are now reaping the benefits.
Sommer has made Andre Onana a distant memory, and is quickly becoming one of the most important players in a potentially titanic Serie A title bout between Inter and Juventus, with no team in Europe’s big five leagues conceding fewer than Inter’s 10 goals.
22. Granit Xhaka - Bayer Leverkusen
The main man in Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title charge is quite obviously Xabi Alonso, so it only makes sense to give his manager on the pitch some credit.
Alonso has regularly praised former Arsenal man Xhaka for instilling his tactics on the pitch and presence in the dressing room, but there’s far more to it than just that.
Xhaka has proved to be the perfect system player for Alonso’s highly fullback-dependent plan of action, and his ability to dictate a game has stepped up from even his best displays at the Emirates.
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21. Ronald Araujo - Barcelona
Barcelona might be a bit of a mess, but Araujo is still standing out above the crowd.
Able to comfortably look like one of the best in the world at both centre back and right back, the Uruguayan is attracting interest from quite literally every big club in the world due to an expiring contract.
Essentially flawless as a modern defender, Bayern Munich and Manchester United are reportedly both willing to pay £100million for the 24-year-old, and it’s very easy to see why.
20. Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Casemiro is gone and Luka Modric is being phased out, but Toni Kroos remains as evergreen as he always has been for Real Madrid.
Continuing to run the show in the middle of the park even with the world’s best young midfielders trying to take his spot, Kroos is still everything good about Real, and will be key to their success for many years to come.
19. Leroy Sane - Bayern Munich
There were fears that Leroy Sane had peaked, but this season he’s proving that isn’t the case.
Previously projected to be a future Ballon d’Or winner at Manchester City, Sane appeared to have run out of tricks, but manager Thomas Tuchel has revitalised him.
With eight goals and ten assists in 16 Bundesliga games, Sane is back at his attacking powerhouse best, and the addition of Harry Kane is seeing him improve week-by-week.
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18. Emi Martinez - Aston Villa
One of football’s great recent stories, Martinez went from a forgotten Arsenal loanee to a World Cup winner.
As mentioned in the intro, the World Cup will soon be a distant memory, especially with Euro 2024 on the horizon, but Martinez is doing his best to make sure that won’t be the only highlight of his career.
Unexpectedly helping Aston Villa to a Champions League push, manager Unai Emery’s high-risk high-reward tactics have left Martinez as a key last line of defence, and his one-on-one mastery is among the best in the world.
17. Rodrygo - Real Madrid
“I hate playing as a number nine,” has been Rodrygo’s constant plea to Carlo Ancelotti, his manager, and the media, but on the pitch you can hardly tell.
The Brazilian has been forced off of the wing for the strikerless Madrid this season, and has shown that he could well end up being the main Brazilian over Vinicius thanks to his sublime all-round play.
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16. Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
Certainly not as his best this season, but Saka’s sheer class is still shining through despite a drop in numbers.
Recency bias isn’t a good look for Saka and Arsenal, but he’s still the main reason the Gunners are in with a title chance, and through to the Champions League knockout stages.
In Europe is where he’ll again be able to showcase his talent to the world, and add an extra fear factor before attempting to do the same again at the Euros.
15. Lautaro Martinez - Inter Milan
Third in Europe’s big five leagues for goals with 18 in 18 league games, Martinez beginning to shut down debates about who the best player in Serie A is.
Key in their run to the Champions League final last season, Martinez looks hell-bent on bringing the Scudetto back to Milan, and may well cause another surprise in Europe.
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14. Thibaut Courtois - Real Madrid
Courtois would undoubtedbly be right near the top if his ACL wasn’t in bits, keeping him out of action until May at the earliest.
Even on the treatment table, his quality as a goalkeeper is noticed, with every Kepa Arrizabalaga and Andriy Lunin mistake met with shouts of ‘Courtois would have stopped that’.
The Belgium no.1 is not only one of the modern generation of flawless all-round goalkeepers, he’s even better than that as he's able to stonewall the world’s best with saves that leave the most experienced football fans stunned.
13. John Stones - Manchester City
Seen by many as the key to City’s incredible tactical system, Stones has revolutionised the word hybrid in football.
Continually getting better in both defence and midfield, the ‘Burnley Beckenbauer’ is warranting that nickname, and could well soon go from elite modern-day player, to an all-time great.
12. Kevin De Bruyne - Manchester City
De Bruyne sent shivers down the spines of Liverpool and Arsenal players with a stunning return from injury against Newcastle after four months out.
There’s debate over whether City can sustain their treble-winning form from last season, but if they do then De Bruyne will undoubtedly be key. The early signs are that he’s ready to take over both the league and Europe in order to jump to the top of this list next year.
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11. Alisson Becker - Liverpool
So good that even Sky Sports analyst and Manchester United legend Gary Neville is calling him the best in the world. Alisson stood out in an average Liverpool team last season, and is still standing out in a very good one this term.
The epitome of the perfect modern-day goalkeeper, the Brazil international is Liverpool’s last line of attack and first line of defence and sublime at both and more.
Always one of the best with the ball at his feet, Alisson’s one-on-one ability is now elite, and this season he’s produced a number of jaw-dropping match-winning last ditch saves to keep Liverpool active in every competition.
10. Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid
Now Atleti’s all-time top scorer when he surpassed Luis Aragones' 173, Griezmann has revealed he’s quite happy to see out his career with the team after a troublesome stint at Barcelona.
That’s huge news for coach Diego Simeone, with the French World Cup winner arguably the most complete footballer in the world.
Able to defend, attack, press, score and provide at an elite level, Griezmann is now getting the recognition he deserves, and there’s a good chance he will get even more as France’s most important player at the Euros.
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9. Trent Alexander-Arnold - Liverpool
So good has Alexander Arnold been since Easter 2023 that there’s no longer conversations about his defensive ability.
While criticism still comes in domestically, those on the continent are ready to anoint the right back as one of the best players in the world for his astonishing array of passing and attacking prowess.
Now vice-captain at his boyhood club, Alexander-Arnold has taken to leadership like a duck to water, and may well end up as the poster boy of the Reds’ next big trophy win.
8. Vinicius Jr - Real Madrid
Only the second player to score a Clasico hat-trick in 23 years Barcelona haven’t hated a player as much since Cristiano Ronaldo.
That’s a huge compliment to Vinicius, who’s not only torturing the Catalans, but the rest of Spain and Europe with octopus-like dribbling skills and laser finishing.
His first act after single-handedly winning the Spanish Super Cup was to criticise his antics that upset opponents, suggesting there’s growth to come on and off the pitch.
7. Mohamed Salah - Liverpool
Categorically one of the greatest players in Premier League history, Salah’s now getting the recognition he deserves, and is doing his best to add even more trophies to his legacy.
The stats are stunning, 203 goals and 82 assists in 328 Liverpool games, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Salah’s now in that special territory where it’s all about records, standing fifth in all-time scoring for the Reds and tenth in the history of the Premier League, and he’s yet to show any signs of slowing down.
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6. Bernardo Silva - Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s favourite among a crop of the world’s best players, his ability to force Silva to stay during the summer might be the best piece of off-field management the legendary coach has ever done.
Technically sublime, Silva mixed his intelligence and endless creativity with a winning-mentality like no other, and will be the key man if City go all the way again, and Portugal cause an upset in the summer.
5. Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid
What makes Bellingham’s achievements all the more stunning this season is that he was never previously relied upon for goals in his career.
The English megastar has become a Galactico in record time at Real Madrid, and his 17 goals and six assists are borderline beyond belief.
Bellingham amazes every single week, adding a long-range thunderbolt to his repertoire against Barca in LaLiga, the 20-year-old is now adding headers and poachers finishes like a seasoned number nine. There’s quite frankly no limits to where he can end up.
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4. Kylian Mbappe - Paris Saint-Germain
Mbappe could have lost out with an almost-switched off 2022/23 campaign where he mainly focused on France, the forward is back to his best this term.
With 26 goals in 25 games, Mbappe is doing a decent job of putting aside the off-field distractions of a summer move, and showing again the kind of generational striking ability that sells tickets just by itself.
3. Erling Haaland - Manchester City
Tearing up records that looked like they’d never be broken, Haaland is leaving legends like Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry in his wake in England, and looks like he could do the same in Europe.
Already 20th in Champions League scoring with 40 goals in 35 games, Haaland is the definition of a footballing machine, and it’s starting to look like only injuries can stop him from destroying everything in his way.
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2. Harry Kane - Bayern Munich
People will criticise the quality of the Bundesliga, but just go and watch one game of Harry Kane at Bayern Munich.
Not only is the England captain smashing every goal record in sight with 26 goals in 23 games, Kane is one of Europe’s best strikers and number tens.
His link-up play with his fellow forwards is arguably the best in the world, and his staggering ability to provide a pass and start an attack shouldn’t really be allowed for a player who’s already one of the best at putting the ball in the net.
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1. Rodri - Manchester City
Being the main man at Man City isn’t easy, but Rodri has put any doubts to bed.
Easily the best defensive midfielder in the world, he’s quickly become the best midfielder, and now best player.
An ability to break up and start attacks while running a game is like no other active player, and he’s even added big time goals to his repertoire, scoring the Champions League winner.
If it wasn’t obvious enough that he’s the best player for the best team in the world, the stats back it up, with all four of City’s defeats this season coming without their key man, while their win rate drops from 75 per cent with him, to 33 per cent without him.
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