Hello all, welcome to the crème de la crème of my end of year posts. My top 50, going into the start of 2024 and the end of 2023. This is a big post, so I can’t do bios on everyone, I’ll do this “Bleacher Report style”, and do bios for the top players. However, I’m not sure you want me doing two paragraphs on how Maximilian Arnold has spent his 2023.
Anyway, here’s how I’m ranking these guys. It won’t be form-based, as we’d see Serhou Guirassy in the top 10 and Kevin de Bruyne wouldn’t even make the list. We’re doing this off talent, with changes based on how they’ve done in 2023. Since we didn’t do this last year, the Guardian’s version of the 2022 top 100 will be considered in the making of this. I’m terrible at explaining things, so I apologize if you didn’t get it fully, but I’m sure you’ll get the gist of it once we’re into the rankings. So, without further ado, I present to you, my top 50 footballers in the world!
#50: Neymar Jr.
#49: Sadio Mané
#48: Mike Maignan
#47: Bruno Fernandes
#46: Randal Kolo Muani
#45: Gabriel Martinelli
#44: Joshua Kimmich
#43: Nicolo Barella
#42: Bruno Guimaraes
#41: Leroy Sane
#40: Rodrygo
#39: Julian Alvarez
#38: John Stones
#37: Frenkie de Jong
#36: Kyle Walker
#35: Keiran Trippier
#34: Ronald Araujo
#33: Heung-min Son
#32: Pedri
#31: William Saliba
#30: Federico Valverde
#29: Virgil van Dijk
#28: Alisson
#27: Emiliano Martinez
#26: Rafael Leao
#25: Luka Modric
#24: Declan Rice
#23: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
#22: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
#21: Ederson
#20: Bukayo Saka
#19: Thibault Courtois
#18: Robert Lewandowski
#17: Jamal Musiala
#16: Lautaro Martinez
#15: Vinicius Jr.
#14: Antoine Griezmann
#13: Ilkay Gundogan
#12: Bernardo Silva
#11: Victor Osimhen
#10: Martin Odegaard
What a past 3 years for Martin Odegaard. From being a backup at Real Madrid, at which he only made a surprising 8 appearances during his 6 years there, (did you know that? I thought it was more…) to joining Arsenal and absolutely flourishing. He has now become top 10 in the world after being the key cog in a side which should’ve won the Premier League last season, and is challenging for it again this season.
#9: Rúben Dias
After a lacklustre 2022, Rúben Dias has bounced back in style. An underrated solid rock at the back, Dias led the City defence to an underrated defensive record in 2023, conceding only 2 goals across 4 games against Real Madrid and Bayern. Dias also only made 1 error leading to a shot in all competitions in 2023, and zero errors leading to a goal. Ruben Dias is, in fact, the best defender in world football.
#8: Mo Salah
Again, another footballer who had been challenged going into 2023. His start to 22/23 wasn’t great, not at all, and Liverpool fans would’ve sold him in a heartbeat for 65 million pounds. However, his 2023 turned everything around, and now Liverpool are rejecting world record bids for him. With 38 goals and 27 assists in this calendar year, Salah has had one of his best years yet and is back among the world’s greats.
#7: Lionel Messi
After going to Inter Miami, the level of Leo Messi has been challenged a bit, but class is permanent. Going into 2023 at 35 years old and best in the world, there was sadly only one thing that could happen for Messi. However, I still think that if he was in a major European league, he’d tear it to shreds. He is still, the greatest of all time.
#6: Rodri
What an odd player Rodri is. He’s the glue of Man City, and his main thing is passing and defending, and he does do that, but when you ask a City fan what they remember about Rodri from this year, it’ll be a goal or a red card. Namely, his goal in Istanbul to beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final, or his freak-out against Nottingham Forest. Still though, Rodri is an immense player, and you can just tell how much Man City miss him when he isn’t playing.
#5: Jude Bellingham
He’s had a brilliant second half of 2023, and the only reason Jude Bellingham isn’t higher up here is because of the pure talent of the players above him. For me to really label Jude Bellingham a top 3 player in the world, he just has to show that top level for longer than a year, just to show this isn’t a purple patch. So 17 goals in 20 games is immensely impressive for what should’ve been a midfielder and it’s got him this far up, but he just needs to show it for longer.
#4: Harry Kane
I must say, I thought Harry Kane would flourish for Bayern, but 20 league goals before the new year is better than I could ever think he’d do. Kane has been an absolute monster in 2023, and if it wasn’t for a certain someone we’ll cover later on, he would be the undisputed best striker in the world.
#3: Kevin de Bruyne
Okay. I know. Kevin de Bruyne has missed all but the first 20 minutes of this season with an injury suffered in the opening match of the Premier League season against Burnley. However, he’s up this high because he just made such a massive difference to City. Sure, Haaland scored the goals, but de Bruyne was THE guy to set everything up and made Man City who they were in the treble winning season. City have been good, but not themselves since his injury. Such an influential player.
#2: Erling Haaland
The final piece. The sixth infinity stone. The seventh chaos emerald. Erling Haaland was the guy who finally made Manchester City click. The guy to finish off all the chances perfectly set up by their incredible midfielders and wingers. Boy, did it show. An unbelievable 52 goals in 2023, an average of one every week, along with 12 assists. This guy is unbelievable.
#1: Kylian Mbappé
To top the list, Kylian Mbappé. He finally takes home the crown of football. While most think it was an underwhelming year for the Frenchman just by taking a glance of what he’s won, it’s been anything but. 54 goals. FIFTY FOUR, across all competitions. He also had 14 assists, averaging a goal contribution every 5 days across 2023. The world of football is now Kylian Mbappe’s, and at 25, he still has a long time to use it.
Those are my top 50 footballers of 2023, I know, a little controversial, but fair in my opinion. I look forward to looking back on these at the end of 2024 and updating my rankings, but for now, I’m Jim James, until next time.