Top 10 Best Footballers 2022 Ranked
Lionel Messi named best footballer of 2022 after winning the World Cup, but GOAT rival Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t even in the top 50.
LIONEL MESSI has been named the best footballer of 2022, while Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make the top 50.
The Argentine, 35, had a fantastic year, winning the Ligue 1 title and the World Cup for the first time, as well as being named the tournament’s best player.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, has had a disastrous year.
Individually, a promising start to the year was overshadowed by Manchester United’s failings all around him.
Ronaldo was dropped by Erik ten Hag upon his arrival after failing to secure a summer transfer away from the club, and he then gave an explosive interview to Piers Morgan.
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His contract with United was later terminated, and Ronaldo went on to sign a record-breaking contract with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
However, after a shaky start, rival fans taunted Ronaldo with chants of “Messi, Messi, Messi.”
🥇 Leo Messi is ranked number 1 in The @Guardian's list of the 100 best male footballers in the world, the 6th time he has topped the list!
— MessivsRonaldo.app (@mvsrapp) January 27, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo drops out of the Top 10 for the first time since the list's inception in 2012, placing 51st. pic.twitter.com/4ck3dZh7gE
Regardless, a list compiled by the Guardian of the “100 best male footballers in the world” revealed the pair’s massive disparity.
Messi topped the list, followed by French duo Kylian Mbappe (who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final) and Karim Benzema.
Benzema won the Ballon d’Or in 2022 for his performances at Real Madrid, while Mbappe’s talent has been on display all year despite the off-field drama surrounding him.
Erling Haaland of Manchester City finished fourth, continuing his ridiculous record of scoring goals for fun.
Kevin De Bruyne finished sixth, with Luka Modric sandwiched between them.
The top ten was completed by Robert Lewandowski, Vinicius Jr, Thibaut Courtois, and Mo Salah.
Outside of the top 10, Sadio Mane of Liverpool was ranked 11th after winning the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, and Brazil’s Neymar was ranked 12th.
Manchester United is linked Harry Kane finished 13th, followed by England prodigy Jude Bellingham in 14th and Manchester United star Casemiro in 15th.
Emiliano Martinez finished 20th, while Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka finished 22nd, ahead of Rafael Leao and Phil Foden.
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Son Heung-Min, Virgil van Dijk, Bruno Fernandes, and Bernardo Silva were among the other Premier League players in the top 30.
From 31 to 50, there were fewer Premier League options, including Julian Alvarez, Alisson, Martin Odegaard, Joao Cancelo, and new Liverpool ace Cody Gakpo.
Five-time Ronaldo, the winner of the Ballon d’Or, was ranked 51st.
Further down the list, an in-form Marcus Rashford was ranked 58th, directly behind Riyadh Mahrez and ahead of Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Declan Rice, who is expected to leave West Ham for a fee of £100 million this summer, finished 88th.
Gabriel Jesus (62), Hakim Ziyech (63), Cristian Romero (72), Lisandro Martinez (81), Darwin Nunez (82), Aleksandar Mitrovic (83) and Reece James were among the other English Premier League players to make the list (94).
