75. Jan Oblak
But Oblak has been pivotal to Diego Simeone for so long now, and is arguably Slovenia's greatest-ever servant.
74. Dani Olmo
Dani Olmo's return to Barcelona in 2024 was a magnificent full circle for the attacking midfielder after his starring role for Spain at the Euros.
Since then, he's had plenty of competition for places but still racked up a La Liga goal in almost every other game from behind Robert Lewandowski, bringing the kind of Bundesliga smarts to Camp Nou that Hansi Flick no doubt adores.
At 27, Olmo's now entering his prime and could well grow in stature at Barça in the coming years.
73. Yann Sommer
Now 37, Yann Sommer is an evergreen custodian enjoying quite the late career renaissance.
He spent almost a decade at Borussia Monchengladbach before Manuel Neuer's skiing accident gave him a chance to finally lift the Bundesliga – and since then, he's been to a Champions League final, and won the Scudetto with Inter Milan.
It's testament to the patience of one of Europe's most underappreciated keepers of the last 10 years and it's nice that he's receiving his flowers, now.
72. Rafael Leao
There are perhaps only a handful of footballers on the planet who have the potential to affect a football match like Rafael Leao.
The combination of his physique and light feet make him a nightmare to defend against, with the Milan man feeling like an old-school centre-forward crowbarred out to the left, just to terrify full-backs – and though he's not captured the Scudetto-winning form that set him apart as one of the most exciting footballers on Earth, he's still lighting up the San Siro with his brilliance.
It'll be intriguing to see how he gets on if he ever gets his blockbuster move.
71. Alexis Mac Allister
Few of Brighton & Hove Albion's gems find that the grass is genuinely greener when they leave the Amex – but Alexis Mac Allister is certainly one of the exceptions to the rule.
The Argentine has gone onto win the Premier League at Liverpool, following his World Cup exploits of 2022, with a measured game of intelligent passing and diligent off-ball work, perfectly complementing the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and being a long sought-after metronome for the Reds.
That Seagulls fans still applaud him is proof not only of an amicable exit but respect for how he's risen to become one of the best midfielders on Earth in just a few short years.
70. Ruben Dias
Ruben Dias is easily one of Pep Guardiola's greatest-ever signings… and that's saying something.
His move from Benfica was almost a panic buy – almost – after Man City were torn apart in lockdown by Leicester City, but the Portuguese has shored up the defence with a kind of leadership that the side had lacked since Vincent Kompany retired: he doesn't do anything flashy like John Stones, but he's one of the most solid defenders that the club have ever had.
At just 28, he's become a rock for club and country and will go down as one of the Premier League's best centre-backs of his era.
69. Robert Lewandowski
42 in all competitions last season, 26 the season before that, and 33 in his maiden Camp Nou campaign, to follow eight seasons at Bayern Munich in which he posted 344 goals in 375 games.
If it wasn't clear already, Robert Lewandowski has reached a level in the game in which he's as good as you can possibly be without being Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – and even though he's now 37, he isn't dropping off any time soon, with eight in his first 12 La Liga appearances this term.
A genuine 21st Century legend, Lewangoalski is as magnificent as ever, with 651 career club strikes in 911 appearances: now that's consistency.
68. Aurelien Tchouameni
Real Madrid shelled out big money for 22-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni in 2022 – but he's slotted in as if he was born to play for the club.
The Frenchman has felt like a part of the furniture, with his clockwork availability and ability to slot in at centre-back if he's needed there as well as in midfield: he's also been a regular for France with over 40 caps before the age of 26.
Tchouameni might not be as glamorous as some of his colleagues but he's gone some way to repaying his fee with assured performances for Los Blancos under successive managers.
67. Bradley Barcola
Quite simply, it's a travesty that Bradley Barcola isn't able to play every week.
But that's the problem you have when you're Paris Saint-Germain, and you have four of the best attackers in the world vying to squeeze into a front three (what a lovely problem to have), with Barcola tasked as being the mazey, measured one, who maybe doesn't have the brute force of his team-mates but definitely has the tricky feet and creativity in spades.
There's only so long that such a brilliant young attacker can wait in the wings while others start ahead of him, surely?
66. Alex Grimaldo
Alex Grimaldo is 30 years of age now – and while he's won five league titles (one of them unbeaten, don't forget), he doesn't get half the credit he deserves.
While Bayer Leverkusen's historic title winners were torn apart in the aftermath of their difficult follow-up season, Grimaldo has remained to offer stability – and over the past two years since signing on a free, he's more than exceeded expectations with lung-bursting energy up and down the left and goals to boot.
Simply one of the best signings of the 2020s.
65. Viktor Gyokeres
London life has been a learning curve for a striker who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, but those numbers reveal the mentality of a man whom Mikel Arteta was immediately convinced by.
Gyokeres might lack the all-round game of some of his rivals, but he's posted such an incredible return over the past few years, almost thanks to his determination alone: he works like a dog to stretch defences, running the channels for that one opportunity to stretch his legs.
Whether he comes good or not at Arsenal is still up for debate – but Gyokeres
64. Mike Maignan
A reputation as the world’s best goalkeeper isn’t easy to come by but Mike Maignan has gone from strength to strength since leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Lille as a young player in 2015. Regarded as the heir to Hugo Lloris at international level, Maignan also inherited big gloves when he joined Milan in 2021.
Replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma was a tall task for the Rossoneri but French international Maignan was perfect for the role. Tall, dominant and a highly accomplished shot stopper, Maignan is reliable with the ball at his feet and an outstanding long passer.
He’s now in his fifth season as Milan’s regular first-choice goalkeeper and is getting better with experience. He was selected as the top goalkeeper at the last European Championship, adding the honour to back-to-back league titles in two different countries in 2021 and 2022.
63. Martin Zubimendi
Tactically disciplined and hewn from impressive midfield pedigree, Martin Zubimendi moved to the Premier League in 2025 to play under fellow San Sebastian boy Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. He developed at the same junior club as his manager but came through the ranks at Real Sociedad.
La Real know a thing or two about producing players, midfielders especially, and in Zubimendi they turned out a young man who became a first team regular, a European Championship winner with Spain and a big money signing for one of the top clubs in England.
Perhaps at his best as a deep-lying playmaker, Zubimendi is a master of spaces and rhythm. He’s not a prolific scorer but his midfield contribution with and without the ball is proving an important addition to the Gunners’ weaponry.
62. Federico Dimarco
They don’t come more black and blue than Federico Dimarco. The Milanese left-back joined Inter Milan’s academy at the age of six. Dimarco has been loaned out several times and even left full-time for a season but the call of home has been a powerful pull throughout his career.
Now, as a senior player and leader, Dimarco is everything the Nerazzurri could want. He’s a loyal warrior who steps up with grit and fire in the big matches, defends with everything he’s got and has the attacking quality to directly affect results. A grafter with pace and technical ability is always worth their weight in gold.
Dimarco has been a stalwart of Inter’s modern era. Regularly named at left-back in the Serie A Team of the Year, the 28-year-old is a Scudetto winner, has back-to-back Coppa Italia medals and has played frequently for Italy since his debut in the summer of 2022.
61. Bryan Mbeumo
Ruben Amorim and Manchester United were determined in their pursuit of Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo in the summer transfer window in 2025, and it’s easy to see why. Having joined the west London side from Troyes when they were in the Championship, the France Under-21 international matured into one of the very best in the business.
Now playing senior international football for Cameroon, Mbeumo was arguably the best all-round forward in a Brentford attack that also boasted Ivan Toney and Yoane Wissa, with whom he combined beautifully before heading to Old Trafford for a reported fee of £71 million.
As he approaches his peak years, Mbeumo has demonstrated all the ingredients of a world-class forward. He’s physically and mentally quick off the mark, powerful, instinctively dangerous and prolific in front of goal. Man United spent big money on him but the weight of evidence supporting their purchase is overwhelming.
60. Rodrygo
Brazilian winger Rodrygo has a wealth of experience for a relatively young player and almost all of it has been harvested at the very highest level. Now 24, he joined Real Madrid from Santos as a precocious teenage talent in 2019 and made his senior international debut in the same year.
He was immediately assimilated into the first team at the Bernabeu and has already won La Liga three times and the Champions League twice. As he becomes a more experienced player at one of the most successful clubs on the planet, Rodrygo will be expected to deliver even more silverware in years to come.
Renowned for his one-on-one attacking ability, speed and naturally technical footballing ability, Rodrygo has also evolved into a streetwise, hard-working and influential player. Successive Real Madrid managers have put their trust in him and the best is surely yet to come.
59. Willian Pacho
One of South America’s most exciting young central defenders, Willian Pacho was a product of the famous Independiente del Valle academy that also developed Premier League stars Pierro Hincapie and Moises Caicedo. He was taken to Europe by Royal Antwerp in 2022 and has come on in leaps and bounds.
After an impressive season in Germany’s Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, he was snapped up by serial French champions Paris Saint-Germain in time to win Ligue 1, the French Cup and the Champions League in 2024/25. Pacho is already a league winner in three countries and has been making up for lost time at international level, racking up caps like nobody’s business since a somewhat belated debut in 2023.
Pacho is a tremendous one-on-one defender who reads the game well and is a tough tackler at the base of a team that likes to attack in numbers. His passing is a key aspect of Luis Enrique’s approach. With Marquinhos now in his thirties, PSG might just have found his natural successor.
58. Sandro Tonali
As part of the team that delivered Newcastle United’s first major trophy in 70 years, Sandro Tonali holds a special place in the hearts of the Gallowgate masses. In truth, he’d long since won over the Magpies faithful since his shock move away from Milan, where it seemed the captaincy beckoned.
Before serving a long ban for betting offences, the former Brescia youngster added a new dimension to Eddie Howe’s midfield, adapting easily to the hard-running Newcastle engine room but bringing an improvement in quality on the ball and attacking thrust from the middle of the pitch.
Tonali is the modern midfield archetype, a willing grafter and composed on the ball, athletic but stylish, and the difference between Newcastle with and without him has been palpable throughout his time in the Premier League. The same is increasingly true for Italy too.
57. Bruno Guimaraes
There aren’t many more beautiful things to see in football than when a club and a player fit like glove and hand. Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is from the north of Rio de Janeiro, approximately 6,800 miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, yet he represents Newcastle United like one might expect of a proud Geordie.
Guimaraes has been the heartbeat of the Newcastle midfield since he moved to St James’ Park from Ligue 1 side Lyon in 2022, embodying Eddie Howe’s intense running and playing with the kind of guts and determination that can win over even the most hardened supporters.
Yet Guimaraes is a player of balance, not just a worker. He has guile and technical ability in abundance, making him a high-quality Premier League all-rounder. A knack for scoring goals is just the cherry on top of the cake.
56. Alphonso Davies
Alphonso Davies’ extraordinary childhood eventually took him to the Canadian city of Edmonton. 10 years after his family arrived in Alberta, Davies signed for Vancouver Whitecaps. Now 25, Davies has followed a phenomenal trajectory in his career since he joined the MLS club.
He’s been capped more than 50 times for Canada but has been winning fans and titles in Europe since 2018, when he left the Whitecaps to jump at the chance at the big time with Bavarian titans Bayern Munich. The flying left-back has become a fixture at the club, helping them to six Bundesliga titles and a Champions League win before he even hits his peak years.
Davies is the captain of the Canadian national team. One week after the World Cup 2026 draw, he played his first Bundesliga match for nearly nine months after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. With the Reds looking to get past the group stage for the first time, Davies’ contribution will be essential.
55. Antoine Semenyo
When London-born forward Antoine Semenyo went on loan to Bath City and Newport County from Bristol City in 2018, there was little indication that his considerable talents would lead to him being recognised just a few years later as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the Premier League.
Semenyo, a Ghanaian international since 2022, joined Premier League side Bournemouth in 2023 and hasn’t looked back. He’s among the league’s most defensively important attacking players, indicative of the work ethic that has propelled him to his current status in the game.
Generally operating in wide areas, Semenyo is the perfect Andoni Iraola forward – a pressing machine with dead-eye ability in front of goal. He’s capable in the air, able to go past a player in the final third and never found wanting for a desire to win.
54. Josko Gvardiol
Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol became a household name on the back of his performances at the World Cup in 2022 but his star had been rising for some time. Born in Zagreb, Gvardiol cut his teeth at local club Dinamo and stepped up a level when he was signed and loaned back by RB Leipzig in 2020.
Gvardiol has good defensive instincts and has largely done away with the rushes of blood to the head that were evident in his early years at both of his clubs. Pep Guardiola liked what he saw. Gvardiol joined Manchester City in 2023 and was a regular in the team that won the Premier League in his first season.
City suits his strengths. Gvardiol developed as a central defender but is able to link with a wide player on the left and loves to get into the box, scoring at a very good rate for a Premier League defender and fulfilling the defensive brief more comfortably with each passing season.
53. Nicolo Barella
Nicolo Barella is the ideal central midfielder for Inter Milan and Italy. The former Cagliari man, Sardinia born and bred, possesses a potent combination of poise, purpose and polish in the middle of the pitch for both club and country. The 28-year-old is among Inter’s most experienced players and has more than 300 Serie A appearances under his belt.
Over the course of seven seasons, Barella has emerged as a leadership figure for the Nerazzurri as well as one of the world’s foremost midfield players. Though he’s primarily attack-minded, Barella never backs down from a conflict and loves to muck in with the midfield battle.
The seasoned international has a great engine and has become known around the world for his tremendous shooting from outside the box, a skill that has earned him comparisons with some of the most celebrated goalscoring midfielders of previous generations.
52. Denzel Dumfries
There aren’t many players at the very top level who can make a legitimate claim to uniqueness but when Denzel Dumfries is marauding up the right flank in the black and blue of Inter Milan or the famous orange of the Netherlands, there’s simply no mistaking him for anyone else.
Dumfries, 29, is a right-back who defends to a high standard but often gives the impression that he’d be just as happy and handy as a centre-forward. That attacking sensibility has been harnessed by Inter managers since he moved to Serie A from PSV in 2021, helping the Nerazzurri to win the Scudetto in 2024 and reach two Champions League finals in three years.
The Dutch international is all-energy and all-action, never knowingly uninvolved in the game. He’s always willing to make a run with or without the ball, or to put a foot in where it counts, and that intensity is sure to serve him well as he approaches the next stage of his career.
51. Alejandro Balde
Barcelona’s 22-year-old homegrown left-back is fast becoming one of the most significant defensive players to come out of La Masia for years. A Spanish international at every level from under-16 to the first team, Alejandro Balde has more than 100 La Liga appearances under his belt.
Balde is Jordi Alba’s successor at the Camp Nou, specialising in that very particular skillset required of full-backs in the world’s best teams. Barcelona expect to have the ball. They want to attack. Balde’s job is tactically different than that of a player in his position at other clubs, and while his defensive contribution is still part of what defines him, it’s his speed and skill going forward that make him suitable for the Blaugrana.
He passes the ball well both in his short game and in attacking areas where creativity is the key. As far as Hansi Flick is concerned, Balde more than fits the bill. With two league titles already to his name and easily a decade ahead of him at the pinnacle of the sport, the sky’s the limit.
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