50. Lionel Messi
Cast your mind back to 2006 and ask yourself what you expected of Lionel Messi two decades into the future. Immortality and a place in a pantheon with a select few from history, perhaps? Or to inevitably fade into a background?
The Flea is no longer at the top level of European football, and at 38, no one really expects him to have the yard headstart on anyone anymore. But the mind of the greatest footballer that the Earth has ever seen is still a dozen steps ahead of the average player: he's still elevating those around him.
He's still a winner. He may well still be on this list the day before he retires altogether.
49. Florian Wirtz
The transfer of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen was the ninth most expensive in football history, the fourth to a Premier League club. The German attacking midfielder emerged as the Bundesliga’s foremost young superstar during Bayer Leverkusen’s historic 2023/24 season.
Wirtz was named as Germany’s Footballer of the Year in 2025, just the latest in a long list of individual accolades bestowed upon the 22-year-old. His departure from Leverkusen was inevitable by the summer and the usual path to Bayern Munich was left untrodden as Wirtz headed instead for Liverpool.
In addition to an impeccable work ethic, Wirtz was in demand because of his technical ability, mastery of the ball and elite football instincts. He’s able to be a creative force even in situations that would stifle other players and is regarded as a world-class talent in the making. The Premier League is the perfect proving ground.
48. Fabian Ruiz
29-year-old midfielder Fabian Ruiz didn’t follow the typical Spanish player’s route to the top. Born and bred in the province of Seville, he joined Real Betis as a child and cracked the first team as a young player starting to make his name in La Liga.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid would ordinarily be the next step for a player who went on to achieve greatness but it was in Italy with Napoli that Ruiz’s terrific sense of space and rhythm in midfield really catapulted him to continental star status and attracted the attention of Paris Saint-Germain.
Ruiz became a three-time Ligue 1 champion and a double-double winner in France with PSG. He joined a select class of players who’ve been European champions with club and country concurrently, winning the European Championship with Spain in 2024 and the Champions League with PSG a year later.
47. Dominik Szoboszlai
Famed for his spectacular goals, dead ball prowess and passing ability, Dominik Szoboszlai is perhaps the most compelling evidence of Red Bull’s development capabilities. The Hungary captain is the Red Bull archetype, jumping from Liefering to Leipzig via Salzburg before being turned into a profit with a lucrative switch to Liverpool in 2023.
Szoboszlai was a coup for the Reds, who met his release clause to acquire not only his polished all-round midfield skills but that little bit extra he can bring in the attacking third. That’s what elevates him beyond players who are otherwise alike and makes him not only a potential match-winner, but the most accomplished Hungarian footballer for generations.
Success has followed Szoboszlai throughout his career. After winning the Austrian Bundesliga four times in a row, he was in the first RB Leipzig team to win major honours in each of the next to seasons. In 2024/25, he made 36 appearances as Arne Slot and Liverpool won the Premier League.
46. David Raya
When former Blackburn goalkeeper David Raya was promoted to the Premier League with Brentford, he started to catch the attention of analysts. There were statistics that suggested he was in some regards the best goalkeeper in the division. As the saves piled up, there emerged a confident and modern stopper destined for a leap up the table.
It was Arsenal who took the plunge and Raya has established himself as a leading goalkeeper, one of the finest in the world, after seeing off Mikel Arteta’s experimental rotation between Raya and Aaron Ramsdale. Now 30 years of age, Raya has become a fixture in the Spain squad, ready to be called upon when the time comes.
A background in futsal is credited with his ability with the ball at his feet, but while his football skills are undoubtedly significant to Arteta, it’s the fact that he’ll produce a genuinely otherworldly save two or three times a season that enhances his reputation among fans.
45. Alessandro Bastoni
If Italy were to grow a centre-back in a laboratory, Alessandro Bastoni might be the result. That’s not so far from the truth; Bastoni has played for his country at every level between under-15 and the first team, an accelerated journey he completed in just six years without skipping a step.
Developed at Atalanta, the 26-year-old was quickly snapped up by Inter Milan and has flourished into one of the world’s most formidable, most unshakeable central defenders. He can play in a back four or anywhere in a back three, and his robust defensive style is supplemented by assured passing and technical ability with the ball at his feet.
Bastoni is destined for greatness and he’s already on the way. Routinely named among the very best defenders in Serie A, he’s already acquired an impressive haul of silverware including two league titles and, in 2021, the European Championship with Italy. He played only once in that competition but has become an Azzurri regular ever since.
44. Federico Valverde
Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde has a wealth of experience and a medal collection any 27-year-old player would be proud to call their own. Born in Montevideo, Valverde learned the ropes at city giants Penarol before Real Madrid took him to Europe late in his teens. There, he has established himself as one of the game’s current midfield greats.
Valverde has made more than 200 appearances for Los Blancos in La Liga since his debut in 2017 and the degree of success he’s been part of has to be seen to be believed. 10 years ago, he was playing in Uruguay. In the intervening years, he’s amassed two Champions League wins, three league titles and plenty more besides.
Celebrated for his dominance in midfield battles as well as his passing ability, Valverde’s success in one of Europe’s top leagues has paved the way for a famous international career. He should pass 100 caps for Uruguay before he turns 30 and his versatility is considered a boon for national team coach Marcelo Bielsa.
43. Scott McTominay
Manchester United academy graduate Scott McTominay has always been a player of some quality. His best occasionally shone through in comparatively bleak times at United but his accelerated status since he moved to Napoli in the summer of 2024 revealed just how impressive a player he is.
McTominay took to Naples like a duck to water and it showed on the pitch. His power and passing in midfield served as the basis for a string of spectacular moments in his first season. He scored big goals in big games, gradually emerging as perhaps the most important player as Antonio Conte delivered Napoli’s fourth Scudetto.
The Scotland international was crowned as Serie A’s most valuable player as his reputation skyrocketed after he left two decades with the Red Devils behind him. Months after winning his first career league title, McTominay helped lead Scotland to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
42. Lautaro Martinez
As a multiple trophy winner for Inter Milan and a world champion with Argentina, Lautaro Martinez is now fully established as one of the most lethal strikers in football. His goalscoring record is outstanding for both club and country; over a sample size of seven years, it’s beyond question.
But even scoring every other game on average over such a long period – and at the very highest levels – is only one part of Martinez’s value. Consistent output is just one aspect on his impact. The 28-year-old has made an art form of showing up when it really matters and that, combined with world-class finishing, puts him among the world’s best.
Martinez was Serie A’s most valuable player and top scorer as Inter won the Scudetto in 2023/24, and, as Martinez’s career has developed, as he’s become more senior, his tangible leadership skills have come to the fore. He has captained the Nerazzurri since his mid-20s and has, under successive Inter managers, led the team by both example and sheer force of personality.
41. Joan Garcia
24-year-old Joan Garcia was born outside Barcelona and took the big step from one of the city’s clubs to the other in the summer of 2025. The goalkeeper spent a decade at Espanyol, eventually making the first-choice position his own in his final full season with the Periquitos.
Barcelona triggered his release clause. His debut season was briefly interrupted by injury but Garcia has again grasped the number one shirt with both hands, this time at one of the biggest clubs on the planet, where expectations are high and competition for that single spot is fierce.
Garcia faces the same challenge at international level, where Unai Simon is at the top of the pecking order with the experienced David Raya and Alex Remiro backing him up. With the current understudies both in their 30s, Garcia’s emergence might just have been perfectly timed.
40. Marquinhos
Marcos Aoas Correa is a rarity. Known around the globe as Marquinhos, he had imposed upon him the label of future great and actually went on to fulfil that outrageous promise. A product of Sao Paulo’s Corinthians, the centre-back played a handful of matches for Roma before Paris Saint-Germain broke the bank to sign him while he was still a teenager.
That was in 2013. Marquinhos was quickly introduced into the first team and has barely been forced out of it since. As the top centre-back and captain of PSG, he’s had a proportion of his workload diverted into the Parisians’ lusty quest for European glory. In 2024-25, they were the most impressive team in the Champions League by far and Marquinhos was the man who finally lifted the trophy.
He's also the captain of Brazil and his ascent to the role was no surprise. Marquinhos has played like he was 31 for years. He’s an exceptional reader of the game, a cerebral defender rather than a brute, and a fine ball-player in his own right. As his physical age caught up with his maturity, leadership roles at the highest level were simply a matter of time.
39. Luis Diaz
One of a handful of players who won the Premier League with Liverpool in 2024/25 and immediately left the club, Colombian winger Luis Diaz is now targeting a league winner’s medal in a third different country as he plays out his first season in the German Bundesliga with Bavarian giants Bayern Munich.
Diaz was ultimately a successful signing for Liverpool. Joining from Porto in 2021 and quickly demonstrating what Jurgen Klopp had seen in him, he became increasingly important. As he made more Premier League appearances he scored more goals, and in his last two seasons his impact on matches grew ever more tangible.
The 28-year-old is firing on all cylinders at Bayern too, racking up goals and assists in his first season in Germany. Diaz also boasts an impressive scoring record in a Colombia shirt. 100 international caps and 35 goals wouldn’t be an unrealistic target with many good years still ahead of him.
38. Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United supporters have taken to Bruno Fernandes in a way that they rarely do and it’s easy to understand why. The Portuguese midfielder signed for the club in 2020 and has been the most reliable and sometimes only positive performer throughout his time at the club. A constant thorn in the side of opponents and their fans, Fernandes is a little spark of United in a team that too often has none.
The 31-year-old combines tenacity and technical quality. He’s always fired-up, the only player at a wayward giant of a club who’s truly understood the brief for the last half a decade. Fernandes is the United player who makes things happen, a creative and capable passer as well as a scorer of special goals.
With more than 300 appearances and 100 goals to his name, Fernandes is the kind of player United used to build around. He’s a Red Devils throwback, a 2008 personality in a 2025 bag, and the first United player for a generation whose eventual departure will be met with a sigh of relief by fans of other clubs, not his own.
37. Alexander Isak
The most expensive player in the history of British football, Alexander Isak simply must be a success at Liverpool. That’s what £125 million should buy. It’s no guarantee but Isak arrived at Anfield with the right balance of proven ability and potential waiting to be unlocked.
The Swedish international left Newcastle United with 54 goals in 86 Premier League appearances. In 2024/25, he scored at a frequency that marked him out as one of the most efficient strikers not only in England but anywhere in Europe. The manner of his departure might have left a bad taste but the extent of his impact was irresistible for the Reds.
A mammoth price tag left Isak needing to prove himself all over again, to deliver at the same kind of volume in a more pressurised situation and in a different tactical system. Liverpool’s struggles early in their title defence might have affected Isak’s ability to hit the ground running but the very clear expectation is that he’s a major component of the recovery.
36. Thibaut Courtois
Belgium have produced a handful of excellent goalkeepers in the past few years – and none of them even come close to Thibaut Courtois.
The Real Madrid man has become a modern-day legend at the Bernabeu for consistent brilliance en route to multiple European triumphs – despite his spell down the road at Atletico – and under the lights, he really defines the ethos of the Galacticos with big-game saves.
He's every inch a superstar as the outfielders he protects.
35. Alisson Becker
If you ever want to know how good Alisson really is, there are two good indicators at club and country. Brazil had a world-class keeper in Ederson who never really came close to deposing him from between the Selecao sticks – and when Alisson signed for Liverpool, that kind of fee was almost unheard of at Anfield.
While Virgil van Dijk's big-money move has been lauded, however, with the defender revered as a Premier League great, Alisson deserves to be in that conversation, too. He's been as consistent as any Prem keeper in history, and as important to the rise of the Reds as anyone else.
His first-leg against PSG in 2025 may well go down as the definitive Alisson display: a performance so unbelievable, yet ultimately overlooked in favour of flashier footballers in end-of-season lists. Despite Liverpool bringing in Giorgi Mamardashvili though, Alisson is still no.1 – and still among the best on Earth. He deserves to be recognised as such.
34. Jules Kounde
Jules Kounde has been coveted by just about every big club since rising to the top of European football with Sevilla – but it was Barcelona who won the race in 2022 and fixed that right-back spot for good.
The Frenchman has been worth every penny, with a level of consistency that none of his team-mates can boast in the same timespan. He's now a regular fixture with his national side, too, and at 27, he's only just coming into his peak years.
Integral to Hansi Flick's high line and while playing out from the back, Kounde is almost ever-present and one of a new breed of full-backs equally capable centrally.
33. Ryan Gravenberch
Ryan Gravenberch took a little while to find his feet at Liverpool. But in the Reds' 20th title win, the Dutchman may well have been the unsung hero of the piece.
Gravenberch doesn't play the no.6 role with the typical all-action ball-winning you'd imagine the role needs. He's calmer, reads play exceptionally and instead of using his long legs to crash into playmakers, he uses them to motor away from them, bringing the ball up the pitch.
He's been one of Arne Slot's biggest success stories and shown former club Bayern Munich that perhaps they judged him a little too soon. Gravenberch is proof that sometimes all you need is a little patience for a wonderkid to blossom into a world-beater.
32. Jurrien Timber
He was never really considered a full-back when he played at Ajax – but now, Arsenal man Jurrien Timber might just be the most complete player in the world currently playing that role.
The Dutchman had to wait to make his mark in N5, with a horrific ACL injury cutting his Premier League debut short. Since then, the number of minutes he's played has been astounding, as Timber has taken the right-back role from Ben White and become the most consistent member of Mikel Arteta's back four.
And his development as a full-back has been impressive, too. A defensive-minded player, Timber now provides excellent support to Bukayo Saka on the right flank, gets into dangerous areas and never wastes the ball in the final third. He's been a very astute signing.
31. Vinicius Jr
Since Kylian Mbappe arrived at Real Madrid, things have been a little more complicated for Vinicius Jr: this is no longer his team, and public spats have perhaps highlighted that.
The Brazilian is far too good for us to ever label him an ‘on his day’ player, but when Vinicius is given his opportunity (and the ball), he is truly devastating, able to cut through defences without breaking a sweat with typical samba dribbling and fantastic ball-striking.
With the 25-year-old perhaps at a crossroads in his career, 2026 will be the year that could define his legacy. Will he leave the Bernabeu, lead Brazil to their sixth World Cup and establish himself in the history books? We wait with baited breath – but he certainly has the talent to do whatever he pleases.
30. Frenkie De Jong
Frenkie De Jong has blown hot and cold since arriving from Ajax in 2019, but perhaps for the first time since that big move to Catalonia, he's working for a manager whose system suits him to a tee.
The Dutchman has the freedom to carry the ball through the thirds with a partner next to him in the pivot, showing his excellent reading of the game and his ability to affect things further forward. Though this is a Barça side that Hansi Flick would rather wasn't box-to-box – just surrounding the opposition's box, would be nice – De Jong is integral to transitions, whether attacking or defending.
He's matured into one of a well-rounded midfielder and made good on the promise of what he'd become all those years ago – now leading this Barcelona team to another European title is the goal.
29. Moises Caicedo
When Moises Caicedo signed for Chelsea, there was an expectation that he would be a transformative figure in this midfield.
And so it's transpired, with the Ecuadorian both the bite and the drive in Enzo Maresca's engine room, helping the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer shine a little brighter ahead of him – but that's without touching on the leadership role that the former Brighton & Hove Albion star has had, too.
This is a young Blues side and Caicedo has been one of the pillars that a (huge) squad looks up to. His presence is steadily growing along with his stature as one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the world.
28. Desire Doue
Desire Doue announced himself on the biggest stage of all, with an incredible performance in the Champions League final – but those who knew, knew.
The Frenchman's obliteration of Inter in Munich merely distilled what he's been doing since signing for Paris Saint-Germain, with his game compared to Neymar for the tricks, flicks and ability to pick a pass through a crowd.
Neymar never had this steely mettle, mind. Doue almost bulldog-like in his intensity, capable of bullying defenders as much as dazzling them – and considering he's still only 20, it's frightening to think how much he could add to his game in the next decade.
27. Joshua Kimmich
With a wand of a right foot and the diligence to play either in midfield or defence, Joshua Kimmich was always a tactician's dream – but in recent years, he's added far more to his game.
The German is a leader for Bayern and Germany, vocally but in the way that he now dictates proceedings from deep with composure and calm. Now 30 years old and with 100 international caps behind him, he's matured into one of the most reliable players in the world, and giving him the ball almost guarantees that it'll end up somewhere better on the pitch.
With the World Cup coming up, Kimmich will be Germany's captain, looking to bring home a fifth title. It would be fitting for him to fulfil that destiny, too, as perhaps Germany's greatest talent post-2014.
26. Rodri
Rodri has simply redefined the defensive midfielder in the Premier League. A little grace, and a truckload of grit.
The Spaniard has become the very model of a metronome in midfield for Manchester City, and his absence has been mighty clear following injuries and absences. But far more than his influence in possession, Rodri has done the dirty work for Pep Guardiola, breaking up play, organising the midfield and ensuring that the Citizens are never without the ball for too long.
It's an unsung role that he was rightly recognised for with the Ballon d'Or – and though City have had flashier players, the man who has revolutionised Pep's own role should be adored by the Etihad faithful as much as any goalscorer or creator.
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