We live in a time where there’s so many living legends in the beautiful game of football. Here is top 10 best footballers in the world at this moment. This takes everything into account, difficulty of the league they play in, whether they’ve been fit etc. See how many you agree with!

Honourable mentions: Wayne Rooney, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure, Alvaro Negredo, Mario Gotze, Marco Reus, Steven Gerrard, Sergio Ramos and Diego Costa.

10. Thiago Silva

Despite being a defender, I think he quite rightly makes it on to this list. His club Paris Saint Germain have excellent defenders but none of them shine through quite like Thiago Silva. He’s been a stalwart for PSG in his short time there and there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind when I say he’s currently the best defender in world football.

9. Xavi

Xavi is still rocking the scene even at 34 years of age, he’s holding down a first team place in a team full of talent. He’s recognised worldwide as one of the greatest midfielders in the world and one of the best playmakers of all time. If you’ve ever watched Barcelona play you’ll understand this, his passing is inch perfect and the experience he has makes him truly worthy of a place in this top ten.

8. Andrea Pirlo

The same age as the previous entry on this list, although you wouldn’t be able to tell. Pirlo is a legend of the great team AC Milan and spent most of his time there, he left because he felt his manager “made him understand he’s no longer useful”. Known highly for his great free kicks, intelligence and overall football ability (as well as that beard) he has written his name in the history books.

7.  Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale broke the world record for the highest transfer fee at the start of the 2013/2014 season, but this doesn’t mean he’s the best player in the world. He’s been in sensational form for Real Madrid, scoring 19 goals and providing 16 assists in just 29 games. Arguable his best goal came in the Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona, in which he showed his outstanding pace. The scary thing is, he’s only 24 years old.

6. Andres Inesta

A product of Barcelona’s youth academy, Andres Iniesta has become undoubtedly the best midfielder in the world. He’s a joy to watch and makes himself stand out among great player like Fabregas and Xavi. He’s never been a prolific goalscorer but it’s obvious he likes assisting more than scoring, proven by the countless amount of assists he gets in any type of match.

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan score many goals, Zlatan take every free kick, Zlatan speak in third person. No but seriously, Ibrahimovic seems to be able to pop up out of no where and score amazing goals. He’s won league titles and other trophies in almost every major European country but has decided to stay at French giants Paris Saint Germain, of course this has nothing to do with the huge amount of money he gets. He would be ranked higher if not for the fact he plays in one of the easier leagues.

4. Franck Ribery

The winger has helped Bayern Munich to plenty of league titles and trophies over the years, even helping his national team (France) reach the World Cup finals. Known for his trickery, skill and precise passing, he’s almost a complete forward. The few times that Bayern have a bad game, Ribery will be the one to grab the game by the neck and try his best to get something out of it, which he usually does.

3. Luis Suarez

Easily the best striker in the world, El Pistolero has managed to smack in 30 goals and provided 12 assists in an astonishing 31 games. He leads the Premier League (the toughest league in the world) in goals/assists and is reportedly wanted by Spanish giants Real Madrid. He’s very disliked for his antics though, he’s bit two players in his career and his diving is beyond laughable but no one can say they wouldn’t have Suarez in their team.

2. Lionel Messi

For so long he was considered the best in the world and even the best of all time, but his injuries have managed to put him down the pecking order. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said about him, so I’ll just leave some stats here. 6 Spanish league titles, 2 Copa Del Reys, 3 Champions League medals, 4 continuous Ballon D’ors, 6 world records, 10 European records, 9 Spanish records, 7 club records and an unbelievable 242 goals in 274 league games for Barcelona.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

As with Lionel Messi, there’s just not enough superlatives for CR7. Messi does have better career stats but talking about the current best player in the world and look no further than Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s recently beat the record for most goals scored in a single Champions League season (previously held by Lionel Messi) and taken the Ballon D’or from what seemed like Messi’s immortal grip. He won 3 Premier League titles with Manchester United, 1 FA Cup, 1 Champions League, 2 Ballon D’ors, 1 world record, 6 European records, 1 English record, 4 Spanish records, 5 Portugese records, 9 club records as well as a truly impeccable record of 176 goals in 163 Spanish league matches.

Don’t agree? let me know in the comments!

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