Top 10 Best Football Players in the World in 2023

10. Vinicius Junior; When "Golden Ball 2022 owner" Karim Benzema has not yet regained his stable form, the Brazilian winger Vinicius is the most prominent player in Real Madrid's attack. He unexpectedly became the leader of Los Blancos, assisting the club in flying high and remaining at the top of La Liga as well as the UEFA Champions League arena. Recently, the 22-year-old player won a one-on-one match against Achraf Hakimi in a Champions League rematch against PSG, bouncing back from a difficult first leg individually and collectively. Then, against Mallorca, he was a huge difference-maker, rising above racist taunts from the crowd to score the first goal and draw the penalty for the second.

9.Thibaut Courtois; The Belgian goalkeeper is the next name in the list thanks to his significant contribution to the victory over Liverpool in the final of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League when he made nine saves as Real Madrid's defense allowed an astonishing 24 shots. Along with that, he became the owner of The Player of The Match in the Champions League final by the UEFA technical team. Plus, the 1992-born player has been awarded the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the 2021-22 season. According to Thibaut, it’s hard for a goalkeeper to win the Ballon D’or, especially when he’s in a team with Bezema. However, we believe that everything is possible in the future if Thibaut can stand on his best form.

8.Sadio Mane; Although, the Senegalese striker missed the chance to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he is still named in the top best players of the year thanks to his great contribution to Senegal’s first Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022. More to say, the 1992-born player surpassed Mohamed Salah and Edouard Mendy to be crowned African Player of the Year for the second time. At club level, Mane went through a successful season as he played an integral part of the team, winning both Carabao Cup and FA Cup in Liverpool shirt. In June 2022, Mane joint Bayern Munich, having scored 11 goals in all competitions.

7.Mohamed Salah; Salah's direct running may be considered rudimentary by football purists, but there is no denying his effectiveness. In recent years, Salah continues to prove his strong form by appearing in the list of nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or Award where he stopped at the fifth place. He was also named England's Men's Footballer of the Year for the second time since 2018, as well as receiving his third Golden Boot award at the end of the Premier League 2021-22 season, which he shared with Son Heung-min after both players scored 23 goals. In addition, Salah was named Playmaker of the Season after accumulating 13 assists. For now, he's Liverpool's talisman, having scored 170 goals and made 275 appearances in all competitions for The Reds. He may have matured later in his career than many other superstar names, but he will undoubtedly go down as one of the all-time Premier League greats.

6. Kevin De Bruyne; You could argue that Salah should be ranked ahead of De Bruyne in terms of raw effectiveness, but De Bruyne may very well be the No. 1 complete footballer in the world right now in terms of skill set, technical ability, physical merits, and mental toughness. Now, the captain and center of the leading club, Manchester City is flying high when he leads the list of Premier League assists in the 2022-2023 season, with 9 assists. In total, the Belgian has 11 assists across all competitions. Kevin is not only dangerous with delicate passes, but also with powerful long shots. So, for those reasons, the 1991-born player is regarded as one of the best players in this year.

5. Robert Lewandowski; It’s undeniable that Lewandowski is one of the best players in the world right now. Since joining Barcelona from Bayern Munich this summer, the 34-year-old striker has scored 18 goals in 19 appearances. In addition, Lewandowski scored six goals for Poland in World Cup qualifiers, including his second World Cup goal on a penalty in a 3–1 loss to France in the round of 16. Now at the age of 34, Lewy still stands at his firm form. If we put him in comparison with Mbappe’s incredible speed or Erling Haaland’s goal-hunting ability, Lewy’s considerable experience and bravery are the foremost factors to be listed among the top football legends of the world. Erling Haaland With only €60 million, Manchester City has brought home a real "monster" with the ability to hunt goals, outstanding with powerful runs, powerful shots and sweeping power.

Haaland is showing a performance beyond the imagination of the most optimistic fans. Even the veteran coach Pep Guardiola got stunned when he saw what the Norwegian striker was performing in the blue kit of Manchester. In his early days at new club, Haaland's record is 10 goals after the first 6 matches, but 2 of which were full 90 minutes. The performance that Man City's No 9 achieves is 1.86 goals / game - the highest among players who play regularly in Europe's top 5 national championships. Without a doubt, Haaland is the player with the highest performance in the 2022-2023 season.

3. Kylian Mbappe; Without a doubt, the biggest rival of Haaland for the title of "Best Player in the World" is Kylian Mbappe who was awarded the tournament's Golden Boot with 8 goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and became the sixth all-time top goal scorer in World Cup history with twelve goals, tied with Pelé. Despite the French team's loss to Argentina in the final, Mbappe had a memorable tournament. Kylian Mbappe has surpassed Erling Haaland, who is currently valued at $180 million, to become the world's most valuable player. Mbappe is now worth $ 192 million, a $ 22 million increase from the previous update. So, still being at a young age and owning a speedy playstyle, the golden era coming to him is just a matter of time.

2.Karim Benzema; The Real Madrid talisman has been overlooked by Madrid for Galactico-style big-money names in recent years, but they always end up turning back to the reliable Frenchman who enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in 2021/22. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid's outstanding striker, has never been voted in the Top 10 "Best Player of the Season" by UEFA, but 2022 will be the time for him when he became the proud owner of the 2022 Ballon D’Or, becoming the fifth French player to win the award since 1998. This 1987-born striker helped Real Madrid win the national championship and the Champions League in the previous season with 44 goals and 15 assists across all competitions.

1. Lionel Messi; Ronaldo is out of top 10! Don’t be sad, but there's no trying to hide the fact that Lionel Messi didn't set the world alight in Paris last season, well, at least by his ridiculous standards. After a stunning final season in Barcelona and finally lifting a trophy with Argentina, Messi definitely earn him the first spot in this list. His influence should never be questioned, and his talent should never be underestimated. Despite a rocky start at PSG, he rebounded last season, scoring 11 goals and assisting 14 more in 33 appearances across all competitions, including the Champions League. Messi has scored 7 times, made 11 assists after 15 match days in the season 2022/2023. This makes him the number 8 scorer in the Ligue 1 so far.