They hold world records for their speed, dribbling, sharpness, and incredible innate talent. These are the brightest stars of the beautiful game.
Top 10 Best Soccer Players 2023
#10: Mohammad Salah
Let’s begin the list with the Egyptian star who captivated the Premier League. He’s one of the most outstanding football references and an emblematic icon of his country. This striker stands out for his calm sharpness and dribbling. His name is synonymous with speed and he is a powerful player in the race.
He uses his speed and the change of pace to win on the counterattack. Plus, he’s incredibly accurate when shooting the ball, thus he scores most of his goals with his left foot. It’s unstoppable. Currently, he plays for the Egyptian national team and belongs to the ranks of Liverpool, setting a record in the Premier League by surpassing 105 left-footed goals by ex-footballer Robbie Fowler.
Salah is a relentless goal machine and a recognition machine too, boasting two FWA Footballer of the Year Awards, the Premier League Player of the Year award, three Premier League Golden Boots, and a Castrol Playmaker winner. Europe is facing one of the most complete strikers.
#9: Vinicius Jr.
The majority of his game is terrific, making him one of the most decisive footballers for Real Madrid this season. The popular Vinnie has surprised even his harshest detractors with the incredible evolution of his game, characterized by a predominantly attacking style.
This Brazilian striker possesses the key dribbling ability to stand out as one of the best. He owns impressive acceleration, so opponents don’t risk covering him if he receives the ball. He regularly outruns defenders by doing an auto pass in front of the opponent to outspeed them. At 22, he still has much football and talent to offer. Unfortunately, Vinicius has had to stand up against campaigns of insults and racist chants. How far can ignorance go?
#8: Luka Modric
Timeless, eternal, and majestic at 37 years old, it seems that Modric will never retire from football. In the last decade, the Croatian has become one of the best footballers in the world ever and surely the best in his position. Nobody manages the midfield like him.
He has a great ability to drive the ball, take control of a game, and create impossible passes, demonstrating a brilliant tactical maturity that makes him an all-around player. He’s always a solution for all his teammates at Real Madrid and as captain of his national team.
He holds records that are difficult to beat, including the most converted penalty shootouts at the World Cups with three scores out of three executions. His technical ability allows him to manage his energy throughout the game, running when he has to and resting on the field. He’s a strategist and the rightful winner of the Best Award and the 2018 Golden Ball.
7: Neymar
Known as Neymar Jr., Neymar, or simply Ney, this striker for Paris Saint-Germain is an absolute player of the Brazilian soccer team. He’s the second top scorer in his national squad, only behind Pelé. Described as a true phenomenon, his prowess in the beautiful game has placed him on the list of the top 10 goal scorers in the history of Paris Saint-Germain.
He’s one of those different soccer players capable of solving a game by himself, doing things with the ball that seem difficult even in video games. His game is electric and explosive, and he stands out technically for his creativity, vision, passing, sharpness, dribbling, touching, and feinting. That’s why he has collected titles, awards, and records at will. Nothing’s going to stop him, not even his particular way of provoking.
6: Robert Lewandowski
Here is one of the best strikers in the world and one of the most feared. Mr. Lewandowski confirms his title by positioning himself as the top active goal scorer in the Bundesliga, a tournament he played for many years while wearing the Bayern Munich jersey.
Currently, he’s part of the ranks of Barcelona and is the illustrious captain of the Polish national team, a team with which he has won the Polish Footballer of the Year award eight times. He stands out for his pace, strength, and technical ability to make big attacks.
His skill and experience allow him to figure out where the ball will flow, the positions he needs to be in, and when he needs to be there. During a masterful game against Wolfsburg in the 2015-16 season of the German professional tournament, Lewandowski came on as a substitute and proceeded to break records by scoring five goals in only nine minutes. He holds four Guinness World Records for the fastest hat-trick, fastest haul of four goals, fastest haul of five goals, and most goals scored by a substitute. Will someone ever beat him?
#5: Erling Haaland
A real terminator at just 22, this Norwegian striker lives up to his nickname. His attacking ability is superhuman. He’s almost 6 and a half feet tall and uses his height to hold possession from behind, effectively protecting the ball while trying to keep everything under control.
Sometimes he runs in behind to help his team build the game. However, the strength of this Manchester City star is finishing. He can score from any position with both feet or his head. The combination of his conviction, technique, and confidence in his chances makes him an exceptional goal scorer, quite a complete center striker.
Number 4: Karim Benzema
Make way for the Golden Ball winner, French striker Karim Benzema. This title is enough to consider him among the best, isn’t it? On the football field, the cat has reached such a good level that it’s out of reach for most soccer players. He leads the line, scores goals, and wins trophies.
Everything that Real Madrid has achieved in the last 14 years has been under the tutelage of Benzema. This Merengue star has a wide repertoire of shots. He scores goals of all kinds and has perfected his striking technique so much that it generates considerable power without sacrificing accuracy.
When it comes to his positioning, he rarely allows opposing central defenders to mark him or get close to him because he’s always on the move. When opponents mass on a low block near his area, he moves away from his marker and into a new space to attack. Everything is under control.
#3: Kevin De Bruyne
He’s the best midfielder of this generation. De Bruyne has established himself as one of the best soccer players in the world and in the Premier League for his excellent passing, dribbling, and shooting abilities. He made his name resound due to his incredible vision and ease of passing to generate goal options.
He has an accurate and powerful shot, so he’s always a threat to score goals from long range, from a free kick, or in the middle of the attacking sequence. His team, Manchester City, and the Belgian national team thank him especially because he also manages both feet to play short and when moving long.
Among other achievements, he has won the IFFHS World’s Best Playmaker title twice, Manchester City Player of the Season four times, PFA Player of the Year twice, Bundesliga Player of the Year, the Footballer of the Year in Germany, and the Belgian Sportsman of the Year. This list is still short.
Number 2: Kylian Mbappe
Winner of the World Cup with his French team, six-time winner of the French league, and three-time winner of the French Cup, Mbappe has already written his name in the book of the best in history and the fastest. The Paris Saint-Germain striker is one of the fastest soccer players in the world currently.
He proved that at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reaching a top speed of 22 mph. Plus, he has an incredible finishing ability. He never loses his composure, not even against the goalkeeper. If the pressure comes from a defender, Mbappe lengthens his stride before attempting to shoot, so he gains more time to assess the goalkeeper’s position.
He can also fake a shot and dribble past the goalkeeper, pretty much like the great former Brazilian striker Ronaldo. He’s deadly. His statistics and his physical and mental capacity are at a very high level. He needs no further introduction.
Number 1: Lionel Messi
We’re facing a giant, the only soccer player in history who has achieved all the victories and awards that football could offer: seven Golden Balls, six Golden Boots, two Best Awards, a World Cup, and a long list of honors that seems endless. He’s also known as El Messias, meaning the Messiah, D10S, or simply La Pulga, meaning the Flea.
Messi is a prolific goal scorer who holds records for the all-time top scorer for Barcelona, his Argentine team, La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and the player non-European with the most goals in the UEFA Champions League.
He’s a living legend and probably the best dribbler of all time. His dribbling technique is perfect, plus his ability to create the game, quality of passing, sharpness, and ability to score are from another planet. He’s highly creative and can outwit opposing defenders with ease thanks to his versatile and infallible left foot. He can play in midfield, on both flanks, or even as a center forward.
Due to his ability with the ball and short height, he’s very agile to change direction and evade his rivals, which is why he went from being La Pulga to La Pulga Atómica, meaning the Atomic Flea. Each to their own. Today, he’s 35 years old, and his magic on the field continues to amaze experts and fans.