The site site presents to your attention the top 10 best football players in the world in 2017.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Gianluigi Buffon
4. Paul Pogba
5. Antoine Griezmann
6. Neymar
7. Alexis Sanchez
8. Eden Hazard
9. Paulo dybala
10. Robert Lewandowski

And now in more detail about each player.

The best of the best in 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)

Despite his 32 years old, Ronaldo is not slowing down and continues to be one of the best in modern football. In 2017, the Portuguese won La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid. In addition, in the 2016/17 season, the striker managed to score the 100th goal in European competition, which has not been possible for any player in the entire history. Ronaldo is also the main contender for the "Golden Ball 2017".

Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ​​Argentina)

In 2017, Lionel Messi failed to receive the title of "best football player in the world." For the five-time winner of the Golden Ball, this year was not entirely successful. He failed to win either the Spanish Championship or the Champions League. Despite this, Messi was the leader of Barcelona, ​​as in the past few years.

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy)

At 39, the longtime guardian of Juventus and Italy continues to progress. This year, Buffon had an excellent chance of winning the Champions League for the first time in his career, but Cristiano Ronaldo would not let him. Like the star Portuguese, Gigi Buffon is among the top contenders for the 2017 World Player of the Year title.

Paul Pogba (Manchester United, France)

Frenchman Pogba is the most expensive footballer in the world. According to many, he does not work off the money that the "red devils" paid for him, but Paul has nothing to do with it, because it was not he who demanded £ 105 million from Manchester United for his transfer. Despite the level of the Premier League, Pogba quickly adapted and became one of the best midfielders in the championship at the end of the season.

Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid, France)

The best player of the European Championship in 2016 is the main star of the "mattress". Many grandees of European football are hunting for Griezmann, and perhaps in the summer transfer window the Frenchman will move to a more eminent club than Atlético.

Neymar (Barcelona, ​​Brazil)

Gradually, Neymar emerges from the shadow of his teammate Lionel Messi. He has already adapted to European football and should start making himself known in the near future.

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal, Chile)

Of all the players at Arsenal today, Sanchez is the best. In each match, he demonstrates the ability of his technique, beating several opponents in one run. The Chilean is eager to win titles, but this is not easy to do in the Gunners, so in the near future the forward may move to a more eminent club.

Eden Hazard (Chelsea, Belgium)

Because of his brilliant performances in the Premier League, many put Azar on a par with Messi and Ronaldo. The Belgian is fast and technical, which allows him to maintain the status of one of the best players not only in England, but also in the world.

Paulo Dybala (Juventus, Argentina)

It took Dybala only two seasons after arriving at Juventus from Palermo to enter the top 10 best footballers in the world. If the Argentinian does not slow down and continues to progress, then perhaps he will become the "new Messi".

Robert Lewandowski (Bavaria, Poland)

Today Lewandowski is the best example of how a center forward should act. The Pole has scored a lot in Borussia D, and is now churning out goals one after another in Bayern Munich.

This is the top 10 footballers in the world at the end of 2017. Once again, Messi and Ronaldo climbed to the top of the rating - two stars of world football, who delight millions of football fans around the world with their game for several years.

There are a lot of ratings of the best football players. Even the Guardian newspaper has its own. And they also highlight the lists of the best goalkeepers, the 100 best football players according to FIFA, the top 100 football players of the World Cup, Europe, or just the hundred best for the year. The absolute list can be considered the list of "The best footballers of the century" from the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFIS).

In English, this list is called Football player of the Century and only 66 people got there in the last century. It is probably worth starting with him.

Football player of the Century

It is unlikely that even people who are well versed in football will remember who Abdullah Majed or even Ferenc Pushkan is (66th and 6th places in the ranking, respectively). But the names of Pele, Maradona, Oleg Blokhin, Roger Milla, Garrincha are still heard. So, here he is the absolute top football today:
1. Pele (Brazil) - 1705
2. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) - 1303
3. Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) - 1228
4. Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina, Spain) - 1215
5. Diego Maradona (Argentina) - 1214
6. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary) - 810
7.Michel Platini (France) - 722
8. Garrincha (Brazil) - 624
9. Eusebio (Portugal) - 544
10. Bobby Charlton (England) - 508
11. Stanley Matthews (England) - 368
12. Marco Van Basten (Netherlands) - 315
13. Gerd Müller (Germany) - 265
14. Zico (Brazil) - 207
15. Lothar Matthäus (Germany) - 202
16.George Best (Northern Ireland) - 187
17. Juan Alberto Schiaffino (Uruguay) - 158
18. Ruud Gullit (Netherlands) - 119
19.Valdir Pereira Didi (Brazil) - 116
20.Gianni Rivera (Italy) - 116
21. Giuseppe Meazza (Italy) - 108
22. Matthias Sindelar (Austria) - 106
23. Fritz Walter (Germany) - 103
24. Robert Moore (England) - 98
25. Jose Manuel Moreno (Argentina) - 96
26. Hugo Sanchez (Mexico) - 85
27. George Weah (Liberia) - 79
28. Roger Milla (Cameroon) - 78
29. Jose Leandro Andrade (Uruguay) - 74
30. Just Fontaine (France) - 73
31. Francisco Gento (Spain) - 73
32. Ladislao Kubala (Hungary, Spain) - 71
33. Franco Baresi (Italy) - 70
34. Josef Bican (Czechoslovakia) - 63
35. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) - 59
36. Omar Sivori (Argentina) - 56
37. Elias Figueroa (Chile) - 55
38. Kevin Keegan (England) - 53
39.Sandor Kocis (Hungary) - 52
40. Hector Scarone (Uruguay) - 51
41. Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia) - 46
42. Giacinto Facchetti (Italy) - 44
43. Raymond Copa (France) - 41
44. Alessandro Mazzola (Italy) - 41
45. Uwe Seeler (Germany) - 40
46. ​​Gunnar Nordahl (Sweden) - 36
47. Zizinho (Brazil) - 35
48. Teofilo Cubillas (Peru) - 34

49. Arsenio Eriko (Paraguay) - 30
50.Denis Lowe (Scotland) - 29
51.Silvio Piola (Italy) - 28
52. Adolfo Pedernera (Argentina) - 27
53. Obdulio Jacinto Varela (Uruguay) - 24
54. Arthur Friedenreich (Brazil) - 23
55. Mikael Laudrup (Denmark) - 22
56. Alberto Spencer (Ecuador) - 21
57. Jozsef Bozik (Hungary) - 21
58. Tostao (Brazil) - 19
59. Ernst Ozvirk (Austria) - 18
60. Paul Van Himst (Belgium) 11
61. Cha Bom Geun (South Korea) - 11
62. Rabah Majer (Algeria) - 10
63. Lakhdar Bellamy (Algeria) - 10
64. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) - 9
65. Luis Cubilla (Uruguay) - 9
66. Abdullah Majed (Saudi Arabia) - 9

Since the best goalkeepers are counted separately, there are 40 of them. Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow) was recognized as the best goalkeeper of all time. Also on the list was Rinat Dasaev (17th place), who played for Spartak Moscow from 1978 to 1988.

Video

TOP-100 FIFA

Since 2004, FIFA has decided to establish its own list of the top 100 footballers. The fact is that the organization itself turned 100 years old that year, so the occasion was more than suitable. This is how the FIFA 100 rating came about.

The candidates were chosen by footballer No. 1 Pele. 50 candidates were selected from active players, 50 from those who have already retired. With the latter, Pele did not manage to meet fifty, and "" proposed 75 candidates. In total, it came out 125.

Franz Beckenbauer was nicknamed Kaiser for his great game

The list is divided by parts of the world, and Europe is divided into Eastern (with Turkey and the former USSR) and Western.

The best FIFA footballers in Eastern Europe:

• Belezoglu, Emre - Turkey
• Bonek, Zbigniew - Poland
• Dasaev, Rinat - USSR
• Masopust, Josef - Czech Republic
• Nedved, Pavel - Czech Republic
• Puskas, Ferenc - Hungary
• Rechber, Ryushtu - Turkey
• Stoichkov, Hristo - Bulgaria
• Haji, Gheorghe - Romania
• Shevchenko, Andrey - Ukraine
• Suker, Davor - Croatia

Pay attention, Rinat Dasaev is already twice "the best"!

Rinat Dasaev

Difference between Soviet and Russian football:

• Rinat Dasaev is included in all the lists of the best footballers and goalkeepers;
• Igor Akinfeev was able to become only the worst goalkeeper of the 2014 World Cup.

Best footballer in Europe (West):
1. Thierry Henry turned sports journalist number 1 in Europe!
2. Baggio, Roberto - Italy
3. Ballack, Michael - Germany
4. Baresi, Franco - Italy
5. Beckenbauer, Franz - Germany
6. David Beckham, who was smashed in the face by Sir Old Man Ferguson.
7. Bergkamp, ​​Dennis - Netherlands
8. Bergomi, Giuseppe - Italy
9. Best, George - Northern Ireland
10. Boniperti, Giampiero - Italy
11. Breitner, Paul - Germany
12. Butrageno, Emilio - Spain
13. Buffon, Gianluigi - Italy
14. Banks, Gordon - England
15. Van Basten, Marco - Netherlands
16. Van de Kerkhof, Willy - Netherlands
17. Van de Kerkhof, Rene - Netherlands
18. Van der Elst, Franks - Belgium
19. Van Nistelrooy, Rude - Netherlands
20. Vieira, Patrick - France
21. Vieri, Christian - Italy

22. Gullit, Ruud - Netherlands
23.Davids, Edgar - Netherlands
24.Dalglish, Kenny - Scotland
25. Del Piero, Alessandro - Italy
26.Desailly, Marseille - France
27. Deschamps, Didier - France
28. Zoff, Dino - Italy
29. Seedorf, Clarence - Netherlands
30. Seeler, Uwe - Germany
31. Zinedine Zidane, French footballer who knows how to butt properly
32. Kahn, Oliver - Germany
33. Cantona, Eric - France
34. Keegan, Kevin - England
35. Keane, Roy - Ireland
36. German footballer and coach Jurgen Klinsmann brought up Joachim Loew, who in turn led the German national team to victory at the 2014 World Cup!
37. Kluivert, Patrick - Netherlands
38. Copa, Raymond - France
39. Costa, Rui - Portugal
40. Cruyff, Johan - Netherlands
41. Coulemans, Jan - Belgium
42. Laudrup, Briand - Denmark
43. Laudrup, Mikael - Denmark
44. Lineker, Gary - England
45. Luis Enrique - Spain
46. ​​Mayer, Sepp - Germany
47. Maldini, Paolo - Italy
48. Matthäus, Lothar - Germany
49. Müller, Gerd - Germany
50. Neskens, Johan - Netherlands
51. Nesta, Alessandro - Italy
52. Owen, Michael - England
53. Papin, Jean-Pierre - France
54. Pires, Robert - France
55. Platini, Michel - France
56. Pfaff, Jean-Marie - Belgium
57. Ryckard, Frank - Netherlands
58. Raul - Spain
59. Rensenbrink, Rob - Netherlands
60. Rivera, Gianni - Italy
61. Rossi, Paolo - Italy
62. Rummenigge, Karl-Heinz - Germany
63. Totti, Francesco - Italy
64. Trezeguet, David - France
65. Tresor, Marius - France
66. Thuram, Lilian - France
67. Facchetti, Giacinto - Italy
68. Figo, Luis - Portugal
69. Fontaine, Just - France
70. Charlton, Bobby - England
71. Shearer, Alan - England
72. Schmeichel, Peter - Denmark
73. Eusebio - Portugal

Jurgen Klinsmann (left) and Joachim Loew at a training session of the German national team

This list is perhaps the most "famous" one. Beckham, Platini, Thierry, Figo, Raoul, Klinsmann, van Basten, Zidane - everyone knows them and remembers them even after finishing their careers or moving to coaches.

FIFA America's Best Footballer (South & North):
1. Batistuta, Gabriel - Argentina
2. Valderrama, Carlos - Colombia
3. Veron, Juan Sebastian - Argentina
4. Zanetti, Javier - Argentina
5. Di Stefano, Alfredo - Argentina
6. Zico - Brazil
7. Junior - Brazil
8. Carlos Alberto - Brazil
9. Roberto Carlos - Brazil
10. Cafu - Brazil
11. Kempes, Mario - Argentina
12. Crespo, Hernan - Argentina
13. Cubillas, Teofilo - Peru
14. Maradona, Diego - Argentina
15. Passarella, Daniel - Argentina
16. Pele - Brazil
17. Rivaldo - Brazil
18. Rivelino - Brazil
19. Romerito - Paraguay
20. Romario - Brazil
21. Ronaldinho - Brazil
22.- Brazil
23.Saviola, Javier - Argentina
24. Zamorano, Ivan - Chile
25.Santos, Jalma - Brazil
26.Santos, Nilton - Brazil
27. Sanchez, Hugo - Mexico
28.Sivori, Omar - Argentina
29.Socrates - Brazil
30. Falcao - Brazil
31. Figueroa, Elias - Chile
32. Francescoli, Enzo - Uruguay
33. Hamm, Mia - USA
34. Eckers, Michelle - USA

Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta is the best here. Pele is modestly in 16th place, and Maradona was not even brought in. Perhaps because of the drug addiction of the famous Argentine football player, or maybe because of something else. Garrinchi, who at the end of his career had a big problem with alcohol, is also absent from the best football players in America. FIFA is for a healthy lifestyle, even to the detriment of football history.

Brazilians dominate the list, but maybe everything will change. After the last World Cup in the homeland of Pele, Zico and Cafu, many started talking about a serious crisis in Brazilian football.

Asia and Africa in FIFA 100

There are only two Asian footballers on the list: Hidetoshi Nakata from Japan and Hong Myung Bo from South Korea. The first left football back in 2006 and preferred to go into business, Hong Myung Bo also completed his playing career, but did not leave the sport. He has been coaching the South Korean national team since 2005. At the 2014 World Cup, the Koreans did not qualify for Group H, as did the Russian national team.

There are more Africans on the list, as many as five. In the first place is Pele, but already different, Abedi from Ghana. He was joined by George Weah (Liberia), El-Hadji Diouf (Sinegal), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria) and Cameroonian Roger Milla, who, like Rinat Dasaev, is in the top 66 best players of the century.

Roger Milla, Cameroon forward

The appearance of FIFA 100 (in fact, 125) was met with hostility and criticized to this day. FIFA was accused of being biased, as well as the fact that it was not Pele who actually chose, but the president of the organization, Sepp Blatter. And someone saw a political order in this whole case. Brazilian midfielder Jeshon even tore up the first FIFA 100 roster, and Marco van Basten and Uwe Seeler refused to be photographed for the booklet.

And this is a symbolic team of the world of wives and girlfriends of football players.

That is why Russia is not represented here, it is completely incomprehensible!

Football TOP-100 Guardian

On May 30, 2014, the British newspaper Guardian conducted a large-scale research and survey among fans and experts from different countries to compile its list of the 100 best football players on the planet.

For the sake of justice, it should be noted that Akinfeev got into the symbolic team of Europe

Experts, including Lothar Matthäus, John Barnes, Zico, named 40 best players each. For the first place, the candidate was given 40 points, for the last - 1. The points were summed up, multiplied by group coefficients, and as a result, the following table was obtained:

Footballer		World championships	World Cup matches and goals
	Brazil	1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
2. Diego MARADONA	Argentina	1982, 1986, 1990, 1994
3. Franz BECKENBAUER		1966, 1970, 1974
4. RONALDO	Brazil	1994, 1998, 2002, 2006			1998, 2002, 2006
6. Johan Cruyff	Holland
7. Lothar MATTHEUS	FRG / Germany	1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
8. Gerd MÜLLER
9. Garrincha	Brazil	1958, 1962, 1966
10. Michelle PLATINI		1978, 1982, 1986
11. EISEBIO	Portugal
12. Paolo MALDINI		1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
13. Zhairzin	Brazil	1966, 1970, 1974
14. Bobby CHARLTON		1962, 1966, 1970
		2002, 2006, 2010
16. ROMARIO	Brazil
17. Just FONTIN
18. Paolo ROSSI		1978, 1982, 1986
19. Dino DZOFF		1970, 1974, 1978, 1982
20. Bobby Moore		1962, 1966, 1970
21. Ferenc PUSHKASH
	Brazil	1978, 1982, 1986
23. Ronaldinho	Brazil
24. Roberto BAJO		1990, 1994, 1998
	Brazil	1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
26. Fabio CANNAVARO		1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
27. RIVALDO	Brazil
28. Mario ZAGALLO	Brazil
29. Johan NESKENS	Holland
30. Lev YASHIN		1958, 1962, 1966
31. Mario KEMPES	Argentina	1974, 1978, 1982
32. Roberto RIVELINO	Brazil	1970, 1974, 1978
33. CHRISTIAN RONALD	Portugal
34. CARLOS ALBERT	Brazil
35. ROBERTO CARLOS	Brazil	1998, 2002, 2006
36. Roger MILLA		1982, 1990, 1994
37. Paul BREITNER
38. Lilian TURAM		1998, 2002, 2006
39. Karl-Heinz RUMMENIGGE		1978, 1982, 1986
40. Giuseppe MEAZZA
41. Gordon Banks
42. Oliver Kahn	Germany	1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
43. Zbigniew BONEK		1978, 1982, 1986
44. Gianluigi BUFFON		1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
45. Daniel PASSARELLA	Argentina	1978, 1982, 1986
46. ​​Franco BARESI		1982, 1990, 1994
47. Gary LINEKER
48. Jalma SANTOS	Brazil	1954, 1958, 1962, 1966
49. Nilton SANTOS	Brazil	1950, 1954, 1958, 1962
50. Uwe SEELER		1958, 1962, 1966, 1970
51. Lionel MESSI	Argentina
52. TOSTAO	Brazil
53. Andreas BREME	FRG / Germany	1986, 1990, 1994
54. Jeff HURST
55. Sepp MAYER		1970, 1974, 1978
56. Hristo STOICHKOV	Bulgaria
	Brazil
58. Sandor KOCHISH
59. Luis FIGU	Portugal
60. Marcel Desailly
61. Gheorghe HAJI		1990, 1994, 1998
62. Giuseppe BERGOMI		1982, 1986, 1990, 1998
63. Fritz WALTER
64. Carles PUYOL		2002, 2006, 2010
65. Andres INIESTA
66. Paul GASCOIN
67. Grzegorz LYATO		1974, 1978, 1982
68. Obdulio VARELA
69. Juan SCIAFFINO
70. Alcides GIJA
71. Helmut RAS	Germany
72. Franck DE BOUR	Holland
73. Rud KROL	Holland
74. Elias FIGUEROA		1966, 1974, 1982
75. LEONIDAS	Brazil
76. Gheorghe POPESCU		1990, 1994, 1998
77. Teofilo CUBILLIAS		1970, 1978, 1982
78. Jay-Jay OKOCHA		1994, 1998, 2002
	Brazil	1954, 1958, 1962
80. Gianni RIVERA		1962, 1966, 1970, 1974
81. Sergio BATISTA	Argentina
82.Igor BELANOV
83. Salvatore SCILLACHI
84. Wesley SNYDER	Holland
85. BELLINI	Brazil	1958, 1962, 1966
86. Alessandro DEL PIERO		1998, 2002, 2006
87. Louis MONTI	Argentina / Italy
88. Thomas N "KONO		1982, 1990, 1994
89. Claudio GENTILE
90. BEBETO	Brazil	1990, 1994, 1998
91. Hector CHUMPITAS
92. Dragan STOYKOVICH	Yugoslavia
93. Matthias ZINDELAR
94. Rinat Dasaev		1982, 1986, 1990
95. Philip LAM	Germany
96. Jurgen KLINSMANN	Germany	1990, 1994, 1998
97. Antonio CABRINI		1978, 1982, 1986
98. LEONARDO	Brazil
99. Giacinto FAKCHETTI		1966, 1970, 1974
100. Thomas BROLIN

Lev Yashin and Rinat Dasaev together with Igor Belanov represent Soviet football. The Russian has nothing to brag about yet. The top three footballers of all time are unlikely to come as a surprise: the great Pele, the legendary Maradona, the first. Whether someone from the 21st century footballers will be able to squeeze the titans on the podium, we will find out in 2114!

Top 10 great football players in the world

Pele won three world championships, photo: sportskeeda.com

Ask at the Church of Maradona in Napoli who is the best footballer in the world and you will get a definite answer. Ask the same question in Brazil and people of different ages will say different names. It is hard for the modern football fan to believe that there has ever been a player capable of doing the same on the pitch as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

We tried to compile an objective top 10 of the best players. To do this, we took as a basis the titles and records of football players, and also took into account the contribution to the popularization and development of football.

10. Zinedine Zidane

Club career: 1988–2006

Zidane won the 1998 World Cup in France, photo: sky.com

Zidane at the age of 10 received a football player's license, and at the age of 14 he signed his first contract with the French club "Caen". He played for all French youth teams from 17 to 21 years old. At 23 he won his first title with Bordeaux - the Intertoto Cup. In 1996, at the age of 24, Zinedine left the French championship and moved to Juventus. In 1998 he became world champion with the French national team and received the Golden Ball. Two years later, Zidane won the European Championship with the French national team. In 2001, Zinedine moved to Real Madrid, with which he won six trophies.

During his career, Zidane has won six trophies each with Juventus and Real Madrid, winning the championship and the Super Cup both in Italy and in Spain. Zidane has won the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the Intertoto Cup twice.

Zidane once received the Ballon d'Or and three times became the best player in the world according to FIFA: in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Zinedine is on the FIFA 100 list from 2004, and is part of the symbolic national team of the 21st century according to UEFA from 2012. Voted the best French footballer of all time by France Football and L "Équipe in 2016 and 2018.

FIFA 100 is a list of the 125 best football players in the world from FIFA and Pele.

9. Ronaldo

Club career: 1993–2011

Ronaldo at the 2002 World Championships in Korea and Japan, photo: sportbible.com

Ronaldo started playing football at the age of six, and at 12 he became a regular player in the children's futsal club Valkeire. In 1993, Ronaldo moved to his first professional football club, the Brazilian Cruzeiro. After Cruzeiro, Ronaldo played for PSV, Barcelona, ​​Inter, Real Madrid, Milan and Corinthians.

Ronaldo has twice become the champion of Spain, won the Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Ronaldo won the World Cup twice and received the Ballon d'Or twice.

Ronaldo is the youngest player (20 years old) to receive the FIFA Player of the Year award and the first player to receive it twice in a row. Ronaldo holds the record for the Brazilian national team for the number of goals in the world championships - 15. "Critter" is also on the FIFA 100 list.

8. Gianluigi Buffon

Club career: 1995 - present

Buffon played for Juventus for 17 years, photo: telegraph.co.uk

Buffon has played for Italian amateur teams since the age of six. In 1995, at the age of 17, he signed a contract with the Italian Parma, for which he played for six years. Buffon spent 17 years of his career for Juventus, and since 2018 he has been playing for PSG.

Buffon has won the Italian Championship 11 times, the Italian Cup and Super Cup 5 times. He won the UEFA Cup once with Parma. With PSG he won the French Super Cup. Buffon is the world champion and European champion among youth.

Buffon has been named Italy's goalkeeper of the year 12 times, the Champions League's best goalkeeper three times and the World Cup's best goalkeeper once. In the 2015/16 season, Buffon set the Serie A record for the most time without conceding a goal - 974 minutes (11 matches). Buffon is the only goalkeeper to win the Champions League title.

Buffon finished second in the 2006 Ballon d'Or poll, behind only Fabio Cannavaro. Gianluigi has had the most international appearances of any European footballer. Buffon played for the Italian national team for 20 years. Listed on the FIFA 100 list.

7. Maradona

Club career: 1976–1997

Diego Maradona with the FIFA World Cup after winning the 1986 World Cup final, photo: sportsnet.ca

Maradona began playing at the age of nine with the Argentinos Juniors youth team. Everyone in the team was three years older than Maradona, but Maradona's level allowed him to play with the elders. From the age of 16, Maradona moved to the main team. Throughout his career, Maradona played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, ​​Napoli, Sevilla and Newells Old Boys.

Maradona has won the Argentine Championship with Boca Juniors, the Cup, Super Cup and the Spanish League Cup with Barcelona. He won the championship, the Italian Cup and Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Cup with Napoli. Maradona is the 1986 world champion. He also won the U-20 World Championship in 1979.

Maradona five times became the top scorer of the Argentine championship, and also became the top scorer of the championship and the Italian Cup.

Maradona is FIFA's Player of the Century, AFA's 1993 Argentinean Footballer of All Time, and 1986's World Cup Player of the Year.

Until 1995, only European footballers could receive the Golden Ball. Therefore, only in 1996, Maradona was awarded the honorary "Golden Ball" for his contribution to the development of football. In 2014, Maradona was recognized as the second winner in 1986 and 1990, together with Igor Belanov and Lothar Matteus.

6. Lionel Messi

Club career: 2003 - present

Messi celebrates a goal in El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabeu, photo: Getty Images

Messi started playing football at the age of five at the Grandoli amateur club. In 1995, at the age of eight, he began playing for the first professional club, the Newells Old Boys. At the age of 13, Lionel signed a contract with Barcelona. For three years Messi played for the second and third teams of the Catalans, and in 2003, at the age of 16, he played the first match for the main team.

In 19 years at Barcelona, ​​Messi has won nine Spanish championships, six Cups and eight Spanish Super Cups. Four Champions League Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, three Club World Championships. With Argentina, Messi won the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2005 World Youth Championship.

Messi is a five-time Golden Boot winner and a five-time Golden Ball winner. Lionel has been Argentina's Player of the Year 11 times and the Champions League top scorer five times. Messi is the top scorer in Argentina's history with 65 goals. One of the top 50 players in the UEFA Champions League of the last 20 years and the symbolic Argentina national team of all time.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Club career: 2002 - present

Ronaldo won the Champions League five times, photo: Getty Images

At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for the Andorinha amateur team. In 1995, at the age of 10, Cristiano signed a contract with the local club Nacional. Throughout his career, Ronaldo also played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid (Madrid), since 2018 he has been playing for Juventus.

With Manchester United, Cristiano has won three English Premier League titles, two League Cups, the FA Cup and Super Cup, the Champions League and the Club World Cup. With Real Madrid, Ronaldo twice won the championship, the Cup and the Super Cup of Spain. He won the Champions League four times, the UEFA Super Cup twice and the Club World Cup three times. With Juventus, Ronaldo won the Italian Super Cup. And with the Portuguese national team, he became the European champion in 2016.

Ronaldo received the Golden Boot four times and the Ballon d'Or five times, and became the Champions League top scorer seven times. Cristiano is the top scorer in UEFA club history with 106 goals, the top scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League with 104 goals and the top scorer in the history of the Club World Cup with seven goals.

4. Johan Cruyff

Club career: 1964-1984

Johan Cruyff at the 1974 World Cup, photo: Getty Images

At the age of 10, Cruyff began playing for the youth team of Ajax, and at 17 he moved to the main team. Johan Cruyff has played for Barcelona, ​​Los Angeles Aztex, Washington Diplomats, Levante and Feyenoord.

With Ajax, Cruyff has won eight Dutch league titles, five Dutch Cups, three European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup. With Barcelona he won the championship and the Spanish Cup. With Feyenoord - the championship and the Cup of the Netherlands.

Johan Cruyff received the Ballon d'Or three times. In 2010 he was awarded the highest FIFA award - the FIFA Order of Merit for his significant contribution to the development of football. It is ranked first in the list of the best European footballers of the 20th century according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFIIS). Listed on the FIFA 100 list.

3. Franz Beckenbauer

Club career: 1964-1983

Franz Beckenbauer in 1977 played with Pele for one club - "New York Cosmos", photo: si.com

Beckenbauer has played for the 1906 Munich team since the age of nine. Throughout his career, Beckenbauer has played for three more clubs: Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos and Hamburg.

With Bayern Munich Beckenbauer won the championship and the FRG Cup four times. Three times in a row - the European Champions Cup, once - the Cup Winners' Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. He won the US Championship three times with New York Cosmos. I won the FRG championship once with Hamburg. With the German national team, Beckenbauer won both the World Championship and the European Championship.

Franz Beckenbauer has received the Ballon d'Or twice and became Germany's Player of the Year four times. Beckenbauer was included in the 20th century World Team in 1998 and in the symbolic teams of three world championships: 1966, 1970 and 1974. Listed on the FIFA 100 list.

2. Marco Van Basten

Club career: 1981–1993

Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten with the European Cup, photo: twitter.com/championsleague

Van Basten started playing football at the age of seven with the Dutch EDO team. At the age of 17, Marco moved to Ajax, where he spent six years, after which he moved to Milan.

With Ajax, Van Basten won the Netherlands Championship and Cup three times, as well as the Cup Winners' Cup. With Milan, Marco won the Italian championship and the Italian Super Cup four times, as well as twice the European Cup, European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Van Basten became the 1988 European champion with the Netherlands national team.

Van Basten received the Golden Ball three times and the Golden Boot once. He became the top scorer of the Netherlands championship four times and the Italian championship twice. He became the best player and scorer of the 1988 European Championship. In 2012, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame, included in the FIFA 100 list.

1. Pele

Club career: 1956-1977

Pele kisses the Jules Rimet prize, photo: theguardian.com

Pele started playing football at age seven, playing for youth teams. He began his professional player career at the age of 15, playing for Santos. Pele only changed clubs once, joining New York Cosmos at 35.

Pele has won the Brazilian Championship six times and the Brazilian Cup five times. He won the Paulista League 10 times and the Rio - Sao Paulo tournament four times. He won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup twice. Also won the Intercontinental Super Cup. With New York Cosmos, Pele won the North American Football League. He won the World Cup three times with the Brazilian national team.

Pele is the only footballer to become a three-time world champion. Pele, the IOC's 1999 Athlete of the Century, FIFA's Player of the Century, ranks first among the world's best footballers of the 20th century, according to a poll by IFFIIS. Included in the national team of the World Championships of All Time since 2002 and is included in the FIFA 100 roster.

At 73, Pele was awarded the honorary Golden Ball for his contribution to the development of football. After revising the awards in 2014, Pele became the second winner from 1958 to 1961 and in 1963, 1964 and 1970.

Reading time: 7 minutes

Football is a word that unites millions and a game that is not only interesting to play, but even very exciting to watch. What is the secret of this game? Football is not only a dynamic on the pitch, a strategy in which coaching staffs put in blood and sweat, but also bright personalities - players that bring into the game an element of fan worship that makes them stars in their field. So let's see who is the best footballer this year, and who, breathing down his back, is a couple of steps behind. In front of you is the top - the best football players in the world for 2017.

Cesc Fabregas

So, in the 10th position is the midfielder of the London club "Chelsea", as well as the Spanish national team - Cesc Fabregas, who began to wear their jersey since 2014, having signed a contract. He was the youngest Spanish footballer to play at the World Cup (19 years old) in 2006, which already gives him a lot to be proud of. He was noted and well remembered by the fans for his game in the Barcelona football club, he was also seen in the promotions of such brands as “Puma” and “Beats by Dre”. This season, he played 36 games in which he made seven assists and scored 4 goals.

Eden Khazar

Very close to Fabregas, in our top, is his teammate - Eden Khazar. The very young captain of the Belgium national team is famous for his incredible technique and explosive speed, who, practically, alone, can change the course of the game, with his speed or dribbling. Shifting from the flanks to the center and the passage to the gate is Eden's trademark. More than once he was recognized as the best player of the season.

Luis Suarez

In eighth place, the infamous striker of the Catalan club "Barcelona" and the national team of Uruguay - Luis Suarez. He is known better for his antics on the field and scandalous interviews outside of it, but despite this, it is always pleasant to watch a football player playing. Having a very memorable appearance, he starred in commercials. Pepsi as well as Adidas shot a couple of commercials with Suarez. The Uruguayan has scored 56 goals in 51 games this season for Barcelona.

Sergio Aguero

Seventh place is taken by Sergio Aguero - a representative of the Argentine national team and a player in the English Premier League team, the Manchester City club. In his debut mast, he returned the club to its former glory, sending the ball into the gates of the Queens Park Rangers in 94 minutes, thus returning the team a title that had been inaccessible to them for almost 44 years. City fans, according to a poll in 2012, recognized him as the best player on the team. Another interesting match - October 3, 2015, Newcastle United - Manchester City. In 20 minutes, Sergio managed to hit the net 5 times! The contract with the club was signed until 2020.

Wayne Rooney

In sixth place, not only is a talented football player with a non-standard appearance, but also the richest athlete in the UK - Wayne Rooney. He is considered to be good at any position in the field - playmaker, striker, defender. At the beginning of his career, he was quite an ambitious and sometimes aggressive player, which has passed over time. Most of all, she was remembered by the audience in the shirt of Manchester United and the England national team. Much to the dismay of fans, on 23 May 2017, he announced the end of his career with England.

Gareth Bale

In fifth place, 11th - the real Madrid club and the captain of the Wales national team - Gareth Bale. His name is known to many who do not even follow the football world and the news, and the reason for this is the incredible speed. Gareth Bale is one of the fastest footballers in the world who can leave the entire opposing team behind in one jerk. As a left-hander, he always played on the left flank, but with the move to Real Madrid, he became a winger on the right flank, due to the presence of another world star in the team who plays in this position - Cristiano Ronaldo.

Neymar

In fourth place is the young star of the Catalan club, Brazilian Neymar. The incredible technical elements inherent in this player make him one of the highest paid footballers of our time. Many brands have already signed contracts with him - Gillette, Nike, Panasonic and Rexona. Many claim that such employment in advertising will affect his technique, but the talented Brazilian refutes all these speculations with his play on the field. He has scored 30 goals and 26 assists this season for his club.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

PSG forward and Sweden captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, open the top three - 10 players of 2017. Having on his account multimillion-dollar sums, he does not stop, being the face of the "Volvo" concern and the representative of the "Nike" company. Playing for PSG this season, he scored 46 goals in 49 games and moved up 18 assists. To his indignation, Ibra has yet to win the Champions League, but his great goals and sometimes aggressive behavior on the field always remain in his memory.

And the first in the list of the best football players is Cristiano Ronaldo. Vice-captain of the Real Madrid club and captain of the Portuguese national team, the most famous and recognizable footballer today. Having fabulous fees, he still shows the highest level of play and reacts very emotionally to failures. Having passed many clubs in his career and played many games in the national team, he still achieved his dream - in 2016 he won the European Championship.

The attacking players are more often than others recognized as the best footballers in clubs, championships and around the world. The bottom line is simple: they score goals and are directly involved in victories. What boy has not dreamed of scoring a goal in the World Cup final! That is why contracts for strikers and attacking midfielders are usually many times more expensive than those of goalkeepers, defensive midfielders and defensive players.

Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo is the current owner of the Ballon d'Or (the main individual award awarded at the end of the year by the football community) and has the English Premier League championship and the UEFA League trophy (the main club tournament in the world) behind him. He has the highest speed, is a master of feints. For years, he perfected the technique of executing free kicks, which subsequently resulted in hundreds of goals against the strongest clubs and national teams in the world. Cristiano is a football star and one of the world's best footballers.

Lionel Messi, striker for Barcelona and Argentina, is a constant rival of Cristiano Ronaldo for titles and the title of the best footballer in the world. He is not tall (at one time he suffered from a lack of growth hormone, but Barcelona's doctors were able to cure him), but this does not prevent Messi from being the threat of all clubs and national teams in the world. Messi was awarded the Ballon d'Or four times in a row. Lionel is regarded by millions of fans around the world as their idol.

Protection

Currently, defenders are highly respected, who can support the attack with quick flanking actions. The full-back of Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, Maicon, has repeatedly scored from the edge of the box. Dani Alves, John Terry and Per Meptesacker have repeatedly brought Sevilla, Chelsea and Arsenal to club titles.

History

The great Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin was recognized as the best football player in the world. He managed to hold back the English, German and Brazilian strikers in the 1966 World Cup (the USSR national team took fourth place then), and also achieved the Olympic championship in 1960 in Melbourne. For his phenomenal playing qualities, Yashin received the nickname "Black Spider".

The greatest number in his career is the great Brazilian striker Pele. It is difficult to establish the exact number of successful actions of the Brazilian (due to the lack of professional statistics at that time), but it reliably exceeds a thousand. Of course, one should also take into account the level of football, which is growing every year. Nowadays, professional football has become much drier than in the middle of the 20th century. But at that time, the best footballer was Pele, fast, technical and methodical, and breaking his record is not easy.

Defender Franz Beckenbauer created the technical Germany team as we know it to this day. He was the captain of the national team and his native club - Bayern Munich, dozens of times became the champion of Germany, twice - the champion of the world and Europe. Until now, he is the benchmark of the game for hundreds of defense professionals.

Perspective

It is difficult to predict who will become the world's best footballer in the future. Great hopes are pinned on Barcelona striker Neymar. He was bought from Brazilian Santos for a record 120 million euros, and in the first year of playing for the Catalan club he became the third scorer of Examples: after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. High results and technical play are also shown by the player of Milan and the Italian national team Mario Balotelli (Super Mario).