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The 100 best footballers in the world

  • Spain's Aitana Bonmatí celebrates winning the World Cup

    Aitana Bonmatí: Spain’s generational talent with a fighting spirit

  • A rundown of the top 10 best female players in the world, as voted by our panel of 112 judges

    3:06

    The Guardian's top female footballers in the world 2023 – video

  • Spain v England: Final - FIFA Women's World Cup Australia &amp; New Zealand 2023<br>SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 20: Aitana Bonmati and Spain players celebrate after the team's victory in the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia &amp; New Zealand 2023 Final match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia on August 20, 2023 in Sydney / Gadigal, Australia. (Photo by Alex Pantling - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

    Spain and Barcelona lead way in women’s football after year of success

  • Sam Kerr, Aitana Bonmatí and Salma Paralluelo

    The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

  • Sissi, Izzy Christiansen and Jonatan Giráldez

    How the Guardian ranked the 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

    Leading coaches, former players and journalists from the women’s game are among the 112 judges for this year’s list
  • Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Fulham.

    Erling Haaland voted the world’s best player – and he’s just getting started

    The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel
  • Rodri of Manchester City, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior.

    See how every judge voted in the 100 best male footballers for 2023

    This year we had 218 judges on our panel for the list and here you can see how they all voted and the total points each player got
    • The Guardian's top male footballers in the world for 2023 – video

    • Changing of the guard in world football as Messi drops out of top three

    • The 100 best male footballers in the world 2023

  • Philipp Lahm, Casagrande and Karen Carney

    How the Guardian ranked the 100 best male footballers in the world 2023

    Philipp Lahm, Walter Casagrande and Karen Carney are part of the panel selecting the best players on the planet in 2023
  • Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Argentina in last month’s World Cup final.

    Lionel Messi leaves top 100 field in wake but Premier League also shows power

  • Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé

    The 100 best male footballers in the world 2022

  • Maicon,  Jan Åge Fjørtoft and Fatih Terim

    How the Guardian ranked the 100 best male footballers in the world 2022

    Maicon, Jan Åge Fjørtoft and Fatih Terim were part of the voting panel for selecting the best players on the planet in 2022
  • Alexia Putellas

    Alexia Putellas is first female player to retain Guardian top 100 crown

  • Beth Mead, Alexia Putellas and Sam Kerr

    The 100 best female footballers in the world 2022

  • Judges-trail Women's top 100 footballers 2022

    How the Guardian ranked the 100 best female footballers in the world 2022

    Leading coaches, former players and journalists from the women’s game are among the 119 judges for this year’s list
  • Robert Lewandowski scores with an overhead kick against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League

    Insatiable Robert Lewandowski now has stats to rival Messi and Ronaldo

    Striker’s insatiable desire to get better in a record-breaking 2021 has put him top of our rankings for a second year running
  • Jorginho (centre) celebrates with Matteo Pessina and Domenico Berardi after scoring the winning penalty in the Euro 2020 semi-final shootout against Spain

    Jorginho misses out on top spot despite Chelsea and Italy triumphs

    The midfielder won the Champions League and Euro 2020 but could not join Luka Modric among the non-forwards to have won our award
  • Erling Haaland and Jorginho made the top 10, but who voted for them?

    The 100 best male footballers 2021: see how every judge voted

    This year 219 judges sent in a total of 8,760 votes. Here is your chance to see how they were cast
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