The 100 Best Players in the World According to Journalists and Former Players [2026]

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Man Utd and Arsenal stars ft. - the 100 best players in the world according to journalists and former players

Spanish newspaper MARCA have now revealed their annual list of the 100 best footballers in the world right now, voted for by journalists, data analysts, and former players.

Last year, Lamine Yamal came out on top in the little-known ranking. But he has now lost his number one position this time around, just four days out from when the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or will be named.

Among the favourites for the famous Golden Ball, alongside the Barcelona sensation, are Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, and Lionel Messi - with the latter continuing to cement his reputation as the greatest player in football history.

While this award has no bearing on who will be bathed in glory come Monday, it does offer a valuable insight into how those in and around the beautiful game have viewed the candidates this year.

The lower section of MARCA's list throws up some interesting picks. For example, while no Celtic or Rangers player makes the cut, Hearts star Harry Milne does, as his side were just two points away from a shock Scottish Premiership title win last season.

Other noteworthy players in this segment include Ivan Toney in 92nd and Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo just two places higher in 90th. Deniz Undav comes in at 88th, having been a surprise World Cup star, contributing to six goals in just four appearances (mostly from the bench).

The 20 best players in Europe's top five leagues have been determined through the average ratings on WhoScored.

Ireland international Troy Parrott is another surprise inclusion, while Premier League trio Emiliano Buendia, Pau Torres, and Ayyoub Bouaddi round out the bottom quarter.

MARCA's Top 100 Players in the World Right Now (100-76)

- 100. Hearts/Scotland Harry Milne - 99. Krasnoda/Armenia Eduard Spertsyan - 98. Thun/Switzerland Franz-Ethan Meichtry - 97. Rayo Vallecano/France Florian Lejeune - 96. Fenerbahce/Spain Marco Asensio - 95. Porto/Spain Samu Agehowa - 94. Braga/Uruguay Rodrigo Zalazar - 93. Feyenoord/Japan Ayase Ueda - 92. Al-Ahli/England Ivan Toney - 91. Bodo/Glimt/Norway Jens Hauge - 90. Man City/Ghana Antoine Semenyo - 89. Real Betis/Morocco Ez Abde - 88. Borussia Dortmund/Norway Julian Ryerson - 87. VfB Stuttgart/Germany Deniz Undav - 86. Ajax/Belgium Mika Godts - 85. Porto/Colombia Luis Suarez - 84. Aston Villa/Spain Pau Torres - 83. Rennes/France Esteban LePaul - 82. AZ Alkmaar/Ireland Troy Parrott - 81. Porto/Denmark Victor Froholdt - 80. Villarreal/Senegal Pape Gueye - 79. Strasbourg/Argentina Joaquin Panichelli - 78. Aston Villa/Argentina Emiliano Buendia - 77. Man City/Morocco Ayyoub Bouaddi - 76. Benfica/Greece Vangelis Pavlidis

While Igor Thiago was called up to the Brazil national team for this summer's World Cup instead of Joao Pedro after he finished behind only Erling Haaland in the Premier League Golden Boot race, it's the latter that appears higher on this list.

Joshua Kimmich still isn't quite up to Casemiro's level after the latter saw a huge uptick in form for Manchester United towards the end of the season, though neither of them finish higher than the controversial Lisandro Martinez, who is 63rd - just one place behind Anthony Gordon.

England duo Adam Wharton (59th) and Morgan Rogers (53rd) feature. Mason Greenwood just misses out on a place in the top 50, which is the same case for the evergeen Luka Modric.

MARCA's Top 100 Players in the World Right Now (76-51)

- 75. Crystal Palace/Senegal Ismaila Sarr - 74. Roma/Netherlands Donyell Malen - 73. Arsenal/Greece Christos Tzolis - 72. Brentford/Brazil Igor Thiago - 71. Bayern Munich/Germany Joshua Kimmich - 70. Al-Nassr/Portugal Joao Felix - 69. Roma/Serbia Mile Svilar - 68. Aston Villa/Scotland John McGinn - 67. Inter Miami/Brazil Casemiro - 66. Real Betis/Spain Pablo Fornals - 65. Atletico Madrid/Spain Marc Pubill - 64. Al-Qadsiah/Mexico Julian Quinones - 63. Man United/Aregntina Lisandro Martinez - 62. Barcelona/England Anthony Gordon - 61. Chelsea/Brazil Joao Pedro - 60. PSV/Morocco Ismael Saibari - 59. Crystal Palace/England Adam Wharton - 58. Aston Villa/Switzerland Johan Manzambi - 57. Club Brugge/Germany Nicolo Tresoldi - 56. Bodo/Glimt/Norway Patrik Berg - 55. Barcelona/Spain Eric Garcia - 54. Galatasaray/Nigeria Victor Osimhen - 53. Chelsea/England Morgan Rogers - 52. Marseille/Jamaica Mason Greenwood - 51. AC Milan/Croatia Luka Modric

All things considered, it's been a relatively forgettable year for Cristiano Ronaldo, who only recently picked up a ban from Portugal for walking out of a training camp and going public about his issues with new manager Jorge Jesus.

That comes after a poor World Cup showing and the feeling among neutrals that his best years are so far behind him, that worrying revisionism is starting to take place on his actual ranking among the world's best.

Still, he ranks 33rd here, above the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Rayan Cherki, and his hopeful Real Madrid heir, Yan Diomande. He probably won't take too kindly to the fact he ranks two places below Bruno Fernandes, his compatriot who broke the Premier League assists record in the 2025/26 season.

Other players finding a place in the top 50 include Arsenal set-piece hero Gabriel, Thibaut Courtois - who remains among the very best goalkeepers in the world - and Luis Diaz, who has found new life after moving to Bayern Munich.

MARCA's Top 100 Players in the World Right Now (50-26)

- 50. mallorca/Kosovo Vedat Muriqi - 49. Liverpool/Hungary Dominik Szoboszlai - 48. Man City/France Rayan Cherki - 47. Real Madrid/Turkey Arda Guler - 46. Atletico Madrid/Spain Marcos Llorente - 45. Real Madrid/ Ivory Coast Yan Diomande - 44. Bayern Munich/France Dayot Upamecano - 43. Rayo Vallecano/Spain Isi Palazon - 42. Barcelona/Spain Joan Garcia - 41. PSG/Brazil Marquinhos - 40. Chaves/Cape Verde Vozinha - 39. Inter Milan/Italy Federico DiMarco - 38. PSG/Ecuador Willian Pacho - 37. Atletico Madrid/France Antoine Griezmann - 36. Barcelona/Spain Fermin Lopez - 35. Como/Argentina Nico Paz - 34. Tottenham/Spain Pedro Porro - 33. Al-Nassr/Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo - 32. Arsenal/Brazil Gabriel - 31. Man United/Portugal Bruno Fernandes - 30. Arsenal/France William Saliba - 29. Athletic Club/Spain Unai Simon - 28. Real Madrid/Belgium Thibaut Courtois - 27. Inter Milan/Argentina Lautaro Martinez - 26. Bayern Munich/Colombia Luis Diaz

Harry Kane has been named the best player in the world by MARCA, beating Lamine Yamal by just 25 points, while Kylian Mbappe and former Ballon d'Or winner Rodri follow in third and fourth.

The Englishman could be on course for a Golden Ball himself in the coming days, emerging as the favourite for football's most prestigious individual award.

Kylian Mbappe is expected to miss out on the 2026 Ballon d'Or despite saying he'd vote for himself.

Lionel Messi sits sixth - recognition of the fact he's still just as good as he ages. Ousmane Dembele is ninth, while another of the best strikers in the world is 11th courtesy of Erling Haaland's continued goalscoring brilliance.

Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice rank 15th and 16th respectively, while Achraf Hakimi (20th) and Vinicius Jr (22nd) might feel a little unfortunate not to place higher.

MARCA's Top 100 Players in the World Right Now (25-1)

- 25. Real Madrid/Spain Marc Cucurella - 24. Arsenal/Spain David Raya - 23. PSG/Portugal Joao Neves - 22. Real Madrid/Brazil Vinicius Jr - 21. Barcelona/Spain Dani Olmo - 20. PSG/Morocco Achraf Hakimi - 19. Real Sociedad/Spain Mikel Oyarzabal - 18. PSG/Portugal Nuno Mendes - 17. Barcelona/Spain Ferran Torres - 16. Arsenal/England Declan Rice - 15. Real Madrid/England Jude Bellingham - 14. Barcelona/Spain Pedri - 13. Barcelona/Brazil Raphinha - 12. PSG/Portugal Vitinha - 11. Man City/Norway Erling Haaland - 10. Barcelona/Spain Pau Cubarsi - 9. PSG/France Ousmane Dembele - 8. Bayern Munich/France Michael Olise - 7. PSG/France Fabian Ruiz - 6. Inter Miami/Argentina Lionel Messi - 5. PSG/Georgia Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - 4. Barcelona/Spain Rodri - 3. Real Madrid/France Kylian Mbappe - 2. Barcelona/Spain Lamine Yamal - 1. Bayern Munich/England Harry Kane

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