best male footballers in the world

Robert Lewandowski

Age 33
Team Bayern Munich / Poland
Position Forward
Rank 1 2020

The Pole becomes the first player to retain top spot since Lionel Messi in 2013, featuring on every judges’ list this year and topping 115 out of 219 votes cast. And it's no surprise – his goalscoring feats continue to defy logic. By mid-December he had scored 66 goals in 57 competitive games for club and country

Lionel Messi

Age 34
Team Paris Saint-Germain / Argentina
Position Forward
Rank 2 2020

For many, not least the man himself, this summer’s Copa América triumph will have been the defining moment of the Argentinian’s year, perhaps more so than his sensational move to PSG or his much-contested Ballon d’Or win. Messi nevertheless ended last season as La Liga’s top scorer and won another Copa del Rey, propping up a feckless Barcelona and once again justifying his uninterrupted presence in this rankings' top three. His time in Paris has been more muted, albeit punctuated by moments of magic such as his first goal for the club, against Manchester City. His stellar Champions League performances remain the one constant from his Catalan years – but PSG won’t mind that if he can propel them to the big prize next year. 

Mohamed Salah

Age 29

Team Liverpool / Egypt

Position Forward

Rank 8 2020 5

Seventh in the Ballon d'Or and not even on the shortlist for the 2021 Fifpro men's world XI – a prize voted for by fellow professionals – Liverpool's phenomenal goalscorer is up five places to his highest ever position on our list. 

Karim Benzema

Age 34

Team Real Madrid / France

Position Forward

Rank 12 2020 8

Back in the France team, despite the case against him for blackmailing finally coming to court and ending with a guilty verdict. On the pitch, Benzema has reached a level unreachable for most footballers – and for many years spent in service to others, even for him. With 18 goals and eight assists already this season at the time of writing, the stats provide the headline and the watertight case, but it’s not really that; it’s that everything he does, he does well, a forward of impeccable intelligence and technique on the pitch.