Best football players in the world ranked 2023

RANK 1 - Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) Lionel Messi remains the undisputed king of the football world, though it would be foolish not to raise an eyebrow as he grows older. Messi has scored 11 goals in 12 matches for Inter Miami this season. RANK 2 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG) Mbappé is a megastar forged by the crucible of the World Cup.He is one of the fastest footballers we've ever seen grace the field, with a range of shooting like no other. He became Paris Saint-Germain's all-time leading scorer, breaking Edinson Cavani's record with 212 goals in PSG colours. RANK 3 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) Kevin De Bruyne still created 22 goals and scored nine in 42 matches across the Premier League and Champions League combined. In the current club Manchester City played 9 seasons, during this time he played 394 matches and scored 96 goals. RANK 4 - Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) Kane's season-end tallies remain consistent around the 30-goal mark with a bundle of assists and uncountable contributions setting him above almost every other striker in the world. He's scored in nine of his 13 competitive appearances for the record German champions so far in 2023-24, with a total of 14 goals – five more than any other Bayern player, ahead of Leroy Sané on nine. RANK 5 - Erling Haaland (Man City) Haaland has normalised the abnormal. Arguably, the Norse titan's only flaw in 2022/23. He proves his consistency over several years, he will sit No.1 in this list without a doubt. The Norwegian finished the 2022/23 campaign with a whopping 52 goals in all competitions as he lifted the Treble. RANK 6 - Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad) Everything Real Madrid have achieved in the last 14 years has been achieved under Benzema's watch. RANK 7 - Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) Lewandowski is both the most likely player to be in that position and the man you'd want to be there. RANK 8 - Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) The 23-year-old has already racked up more than 200 appearances for the club in all competitions since 2018. RANK 9 - Luka Modric (Real Madrid) Ageless, timeless, majestic. Modric will never get old nor will he retire – we simply refuse to believe it. RANK 10 - Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) Bellingham's all-action, dynamic presence saw him transform from teenage wildcard to instant starter for England at the World Cup 2022. Our comprehensive round-up of the 10 best football players in the world in 2023.