If there's one thing sports fans and internet users have in common, it's a fondness for ranking things or people in their respective fields.
Naturally, this means there's always been a debate about who the best soccer players of all time were. Since we also love healthy discussions about sports, here are our rankings of the best soccer players in recent years.
How to Judge the Best Soccer Players Right Now
When judging the best right now, we'll still consider players currently playing with a proven track record rather than just the best players throughout the history of soccer.
After all, many players have just had an excellent season or even played in the European Championships or Copa America and are impressed (more on them later).
For our list, we've prioritised players who are still playing, considering their overall career achievements and recent playing form without solely considering this year.
10. Lautaro Martinez
The Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, a force to be reckoned with, plays for Inter Milan and has won Serie A and the Coppa Italia twice each. His journey to the UEFA Champions League final in 2022-2023 with Inter Milan is a testament to his skill and determination.
He won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and the Copa America in 2021 and 2024.
World Cup Wins: 1 (2022)
UEFA Europa League: 1 (2020 with Inter Milan, runner-up)
Serie A: 1 title with Inter Milan
Copa America: 2 (2021, 2024)
9. Rodri
The Spanish midfielder Rodri plays for Manchester City after spending time playing for the Spanish sides of Villarreal and Atlético Madrid.
With Manchester City, he's won the Premier League four times and the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Champions League once each, including the continental treble completed by Manchester City during the 2022-2023 season.
Most recently, he was part of the Spanish team that won the European Championship (or Euros).
UEFA Champions League: 1 (2023 with Manchester City)
Premier League: Multiple titles with Manchester City
UEFA Nations League: 1 (2023)
PFA Team of the Year: 1
UEFA European Championships: 1 (2024)
8. Vinícius Júnior
Vinícius Júnior is a Brazilian forward who currently plays for Real Madrid. This young player has won La Liga in Spain three times and the UEFA Champions League twice.
His pace, dribbling, and flair make him a threat as a winger. He regularly beats defenders in one-on-one situations and creates scoring opportunities or goals.
UEFA Champions League: 2 (2022 and 2024 with Real Madrid)
La Liga: 3 titles with Real Madrid
Numerous domestic cup titles with Real Madrid
7. Lionel Messi
The Argentine forward Lionel Messi is likely to be one of the greatest soccer players ever. Still, we're looking at a player towards the end of his career.
Admittedly, Messi being Messi means that his most recent achievements include winning the World Cup in 2022 and the Copa America in 2024 with Argentina. Messi certainly contributed, but Argentina also has one of the world's best soccer teams right now.
He plays for the MLS team Inter Miami following a high-profile and expensive move to the USA.
Before then, he played at Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1. He won the French Ligue 1 twice while in Paris, but in a league where PSG's wage bill is more than a third of the entire wages for all of Ligue 1, they should be winning everything every year, but they don't.
Messi's status as the greatest player of all time was firmly cemented during his time at Barcelona, where he'd played almost his entire career.
He won countless trophies at Barcelona and was quickly the club's best player, even during a time when the club famously had plenty of incredible players.
World Cup Wins: 1 (2022)
Ballon d'Or: 7 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021)
UEFA Champions League: 4 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 with Barcelona)
La Liga: 10 titles with Barcelona
Copa America: 2 (2021, 2024)
FIFA Club World Cup: 3
UEFA Super Cup: 3
6. Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne is a Belgian midfielder who plays for Manchester City. He has also played for Genk, Chelsea, Werder Bremen, and VfL Wolfsburg.
Most of his success has come from playing with the hugely successful Manchester City team in recent years.
However, he also won trophies in his native Belgium, winning the Belgian Pro League in 2010-2011, the Belgian Cup in 2008-2009, and the DFB-Pokal (the German domestic cup) in the 2014-2015 season.
He's won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups, and the UEFA Champions League with Manchester City.
He was also part of the Belgium team that came third in the World Cup 2018.
After Belgium's elimination to an underperforming France in the 2024 European Championships, he famously reacted to a journalist's foolish question suggesting that Belgium's "Golden Generation" of players should have perhaps won more trophies. His response was that the question was "stupid" and suggested that France, England, Spain, and Germany also had solid teams at the same time that could also be called Golden Generations.
UEFA Champions League: 1 (2023 with Manchester City)
Premier League: Multiple titles with Manchester City
Premier League Player of the Season: 2
5. Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham is a very young player whose vision and versatility make him a potent central midfielder.
He's one of a younger generation of England players who have spent time outside of the English league system, particularly from a young age. While leaving Australia is definitely common for the best Australian players, only a handful of the top English players ever seem to play outside the country.
He's already played for Borussia Dortmund, where he won the DFB-Pokal in the 2020-2021 season.
After a big move to Real Madrid, he won La Liga in the same season in the 2023-2024 and the UEFA Champions League.
In the recent European Championships, Jude Bellingham struggled to have much of the expected impact before the tournament started. However, he did score an incredible overhead kick during extra time against Slovakia during the quarter-finals.
Bellingham's disappointment from losing to a stronger Spanish side during the finals will unlikely affect his playing when he returns to Real Madrid after the summer for the 2024-2025 season.
DFB-Pokal: 1 with Borussia Dortmund (2021)
La Liga: 1 with Real Madrid (2024)
Supercopa de España: 1 with Real Madrid (2024)
UEFA Champions League: 1 with Real Madrid (2024)
4. Mohamed Salah
The Egyptian winger and forward Mohamed Salah plays for Liverpool and the Egyptian national team.
Before his move to Liverpool, he played with Basel in the Swiss League and with Italian clubs Fiorentina and Rome. He even spent a couple of seasons at Chelsea in England.
Most famously, he was with the Liverpool team that won the Premier League during the 2019-2020 season. He also won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Champions League, each once with Liverpool.
He's also won the Premier League Golden Boot three times and the PFA Player of the Year twice.
UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019 with Liverpool)
Premier League: 1 (2020 with Liverpool)
Premier League Golden Boot: 3 (2018, 2019, 2022)
PFA Player of the Year: 2
3. Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is a Norwegian striker currently playing for Manchester City. Before his time in the English Premier League, he played for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga and Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga.
He's won domestic cups at all three clubs and the Premier League twice with Manchester City.
At Manchester City, he also completed the continental treble, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League in the same season.
He was born in 2000, which makes him a very young player. His goalscoring statistics at every club he's played for have been outstanding, as have those for the Norwegian national side.
Premier League: 2 with Manchester City (2023, 2024)
FA Cup: 1 with Manchester City (2023)
UEFA Champions League: 1 with Manchester City (2023)
UEFA Super Cup: 1 with Manchester City (2023)
2. Harry Kane
The English striker Harry Kane hasn't had the best of times at the European Championships, despite reaching the final.
His goalscoring achievements in the tournament put him joint for the Golden Boot at the Euros. Still, many noticed the prolific goalscorer (England's record holder) looking sluggish on the pitch.
He also could have had a better season last year after his move to Bayern Munich in 2023. Previously, the team had won 11 consecutive titles. Kane, who'd moved away from Tottenham Hotspur looking for trophies, will have to end the 2023-2024 season trophyless again.
Born in 1993, Kane is one of the older players on our list. His career has shown that he's an exceptional player and one of the best in recent years, but he may go down in history as the finest player to have never won a trophy.
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1 (2018)
Premier League Golden Boot: 3 (2016, 2018, 2021)
UEFA Champions League top scorer: 1 (2024)
1. Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé is a French forward. He played for Monaco when they won Ligue 1 in 2016-17 and for PSG for their many league titles and domestic cups.
He played for the French squad that won the World Cup in 2018 and was part of the team that reached the final in 2022 in Qatar.
After years of speculation, Mbappé has let his PSG contract expire and will join Spanish giants Real Madrid for the 2024-2025 season.
His search for European club glory continues, but he's likely to find it at Real Madrid, the 15-time Champions League winners, rather than at PSG.
World Cup Wins: 1 (2018)
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1 (2022)
Ligue 1: Multiple titles with PSG and Monaco
UEFA Nations League: 1 (2021)
Players to Watch Right Now
Many eyes were on the excellent Spanish team after winning the European Championship. Rodri, who's already on our list, was outstanding.
Spain has other young, talented players, including Lamine Yamal (aged just 16 at the start of the tournament), who clearly proved that he's a player with a bright future. The young Spaniard Pedri is also an incredible talent, but this season was plagued by injury, and he was also injured during the Euros.
Fellow Euros finalists England had a side that included Bukayo Saka, another young talent. At the same time, a disappointing French team will be happy that Mbappé is incredibly young. There are other young talents like Eduardo Camavinga.
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