The 50 Best Footballers in the World 2024 (Ranked)

Footballers to many are more than just athletes of the sport. They are icons in daily life too. Talent, hard work, dedication, and love for football have showered them with endless success. Some of the best names have ensured their place in the history of the game. The list of 50 best footballers in the world is based on the player’s current form with their club as well as overall talent.

Over here, we look into five of the best football players dominating their respective leagues and Europe right now. All of them are performing at the highest level in the 2024/21 campaign. Three of them are proven stars of the game while others are upcoming generational talents.

Top 50 Best Footballers in the World 2024

RankPlayerClubNationalityAge

1

Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich POL

32

2

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

ARG

33

3

Jadon Sancho

Dortmund

GBR

21

4

Kylian Mbappé

PSG

FRA

22

5

Erling Haaland Dortmund

NOR

20

6

Cristiano Ronaldo


Juventus

PRT

35

7

Iago Aspas

Celta

ESP

33

8

João Cancelo

Man City

PRT

26

9

Karim Benzema

Real Madrid

FRA

33

10

Toni Kroos

Real Madrid

DEU

31

11

Jordi Alba

Barcelona

ESP

32

12

Antoine Griezmann

Barcelona

FRA

30

13

John Stones

Man City

GBR

26

14

André Silva

Frankfurt

PRT

25

15

Neymar Jr.

PSG

BRA

29

16

Gerard Moreno

Villarreal

ESP

29

17

Thiago Silva

Chelsea

BRA

36

18

Ilkay Gündogan

Man City

DEU

30

19

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Man City

UKR

24

20

Thibaut Courtois

Real Madrid

BEL

28

21

Yassine Bounou

Sevilla FC

MAR

30

22

Dayot Upamecano

RB Leipzig

FRA

22

23

Edmond Tapsoba

Leverkusen

BFA

22

24

Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid

ESP

35

25

Willi Orban

RB Leipzig

HUN

28

26

Kevin De Bruyne

Man City

BEL

29

27

Filip Kostić

Frankfurt

SRB

28

28

Nico Elvedi

M’gladbach

CHE

24

29

Juan Cuadrado

Juventus

COL

32

30

Lucas Vázquez

Real Madrid

ESP

29

31

Jack Grealish

Aston Villa

GBR

25

32

Harry Maguire

Man Utd

GBR

29

33

Memphis Depay

Lyon

NLD

27

34

Romelu Lukaku

Inter

BEL

27

35

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool

GBR

22

36

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

EGY

28

37

Illan Meslier

Leeds Utd

FRA

21

38

Kurt Zouma

Chelsea

FRA

26

39

Jorginho

Chelsea

ITA

29

40

Casemiro

Real Madrid

BRA

29

41

Bernardo Silva

Man City

PRT

26

42

Thomas Müller

Bayern

DEU

31

43

Rúben Dias

Man City

PRT

23

44

Harry Kane

Tottenham

GBR

27

45

Fabinho

Liverpool

BRA

27

46

Domenico Berardi

Sassuolo

ITA

26

47

Marco Verratti

PSG

ITA

28

48

Giorgio Chiellini

Juventus

ITA

36

49

Kyle Walker

Man City

GBR

30

50

Emiliano Martínez

Aston Villa

ARG

28

Who is the best footballer in 2024?

Robert Lewandowski is the best footballer in the world right now. The centre-forward is all set to dominate the coming years. Many fans believe it’s the end of the Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era and new begins.

Despite struggling through injuries, Robert still leads the European golden shoe race with 32 goals in Bundesliga. Lewandowski’s staggering record made him the second-highest all-time goalscorer in the league.

He got robbed of the Balon d’Or last season due to the pandemic but is very much in the driving seat to receive one in the future. His absence has hurt Bayern in Europe but nothing could stop him to taste another league shield with the Bavarian.

Messi: No doubt, the year 2024 was bad for Lionel Messi, 5’7 failed to give the performance that he is known for. But still, he manages to get the second spot on the list of best footballers in the world which is a bit high compared to his numbers in 2024.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Unlike his club, Cristiano Ronaldo’s season individually has been great again. Now aged 36, Ronaldo has bagged 25 goals in 29 Serie A games with four more in the Champions League. However, his club has failed to reward him for that with lacklustre performances. They have lost title dominance and also are eliminated from the Champions League. Despite all of this, Ronaldo remains the best player in the team by delivering season after season.

Kylian Mbappe: One of the best football players in the world right now, the French wunderkind turned into a sublime footballer. The 22-year-old showed his prolific attitude in front of the goal yet again.

Mbappe has rippled the net 37 times in 34 games till now with PSG still embarking on league and Champions League title. Winning both will round off his best season ever in his developing incredible career. A lot more is yet to arrive from his striking boots.

Erling Haaland: The 20-year-old Norwegian is an insane goal machine. Recognized for his pace, athleticism, and brutal strength Haaland has gone to an unthinkable level. Named as ‘the terminator’, he has bagged 36 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund this season. Haaland is braced to achieve even more in the future when he decides to take the next big transfer of his career.

Who is the best football player of the decade?

Lionel Messi is the best footballer of the decade and there is no current footballer who can beat the GOAT.

Last year, Messi put a transfer request to leave Barcelona. Fast forward to 2024 and he’s delivering immensely for the club as he usually does. With the relationship paired up, for now, La Pulga has managed to score 33 goals in 39 games.

For his contributions, Barcelona has to lift off from a poor start to the campaign to be a serious title contender. If Messi decides to conclude twenty years stay at the club this summer, he will be desperate to end it on a high.