10 BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD
100 NABIL FEKIR
REAL BETIS
France
A few eyebrows were raised when the Lyon captain and World Cup winner joined Real Betis last summer for an initial €20m; the gifted playmaker had agreed a €60m move to Liverpool in 2018 before the Reds got cold feet, citing an underlying knee injury. No signs of trouble yet, however: he is already essential for Los Verdiblancos.
99 LAUTARO MARTINEZ
INTER
Argentina
After a season spent adjusting to European football, Martinez – now Argentina’s first-choice frontman – is justifying the hype. The industrious 22-year-old scores and creates goals for Inter, and under Antonio Conte he has formed a fine partnership with Romelu Lukaku that’s already been dubbed ‘LuLa’ by the Italian press.
98 CIRO IMMOBILE
LAZIO
Italy
Given his freakish scoring rate at Lazio (November’s 2-1 win at Milan marked his 100th goal for the club, in 147 games), the second half of 2018-19 was disappointing for Immobile. He is making up for it now, matching last term’s goal tally by November’s end. In that time, he scored in 15 of his 19 appearances for Lazio and Italy.
97 WISSAM BEN YEDDER
MONACO
France
After three increasingly prolific campaigns at Sevilla, which followed six years with Toulouse, Ben Yedder is back in Ligue 1 – and he is flourishing. The 29-year-old was vocal about catching Didier Deschamps’ attention for Euro 2020, and that he has done: without his goals, a mediocre Monaco would be in even greater trouble.
96 MARTIN ODEGAARD
REAL SOCIEDAD ON LOAN FROM REAL MADRID
Norway
Odegaard became world-famous when he debuted for Norway aged 15 and joined Real Madrid at 16, but only now, after shining in the Eredivisie, is the 21-year-old getting the chance to show Spanish football his worth. Stellar midfield performances at Real Sociedad earned him La Liga’s Player of the Month gong for September.
95 IAGO ASPAS
CELTA VIGO
Spain
Aspas isn’t just Celta Vigo’s star player: he is their leader, their talisman, and he completely embodies the club. In 2018-19 he netted 20 league goals for a woeful side, keeping them in La Liga almost single-handedly. The former Liverpool man is a cracking package: set-piece master, workhorse, creator and ever-reliable finisher.
94 DUSAN TADIC
AJAX
Serbia
Tadic became just the ninth player in history to receive a 10/10 rating from L’Équipe, for his incredible display in the demolition of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Playing as a false nine, he was imperious in Ajax’s Champions League quest, and his 38 club goals in all competitions last term beat his four-year Southampton haul – by 15.
93 GABRIEL JESUS
MANCHESTER CITY
Brazil
The striker played his part in another record-breaking season at the Etihad Stadium, scoring 21 goals in as many starts across 2018-19. He was brilliant for Brazil to help them lift the Copa America: the 22-year-old put in goal-and-assist displays in the semi-final and final as his beloved Selecao triumphed on home soil.
92 PAULO DYBALA
JUVENTUS
Argentina
Dybala has spent a lot of the 2019-20 season making a mockery of Juve’s efforts to flog him in the summer. The Argentine forward was determined to prove his worth throughout the turbulence, and he has done just that with some fine performances and important goals, including strikes against both Milan and Inter.
91 LORENZO INSIGNE
NAPOLI
Italy
Although 2019 concludes with doubts swirling about Insigne’s future at his hometown club, the fleet-footed winger’s 10-goal haul in 2018-19 helped Napoli finish 2nd in Serie A. Since then, tensions have risen between players, management and fans at the Stadio San Paolo, but Insigne has continued to deliver amid the chaos.
90 RICARDO PEREIRA
LEICESTER
Portugal
Leicester’s player of the season in 2018-19 is a flying force for the Foxes; a steam train of a right-back who is often found inside the opposition penalty area. The Portuguese speedster set up six goals last term, and he has designs on finally ousting Joao Cancelo and Nelson Semedo in time for Euro 2020 next summer.
89 ROMELU LUKAKU
INTER
Belgium
Lukaku’s summer switch
