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The nightmare of 2020 (for most of the world) is about to end. In a unique year that saw sport having to be suspended for three months, it is a credit to the football authorities that the sport has gotten back up and running around the world.
The pandemic meant that a lot had to change in football this year. The 2020-21 season began with a shorter pre-season than has been the case in recent memory.
The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League had to be played in a bio-secure hub in Lisbon, with one-legged knockout ties from the quarter-finals.
However, what has not changed, even in 2020, are some of the players who have led their clubs to the big honors this year. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remained close to the peak of their powers, even though the former couldn't win a trophy with Barcelona last season.
The all-conquering Bayern Munich side of Hansi Flick had their names written in the history books as well, for achieving the treble.
In this article, we take a look at the top 10 players from across the world in the calendar year 2020.
Honorable Mentions: Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Sergio Ramos.
#10 Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's Egyptian phenomenon had another crowning moment in 2020, as he wore a Premier League winners' medal around his neck in July. The Reds had wiped the floor with their competition in the Premier League last season.
Mohamed Salah was also Liverpool's top-scorer with 23 goals in all competitions last season, 19 of which came in the Premier League.
Salah has 27 goals and 11 assists to his name in all competitions in the calendar year. However, he was somehow overlooked for a spot in last year's PFA Team of the Season.
The Egyptian hasn't looked back, though, and has had a storming start to the new campaign as well. He has already scored 16 goals and has four assists in all competitions this season. 13 of those 16 goals have been in the Premier League, where he is the current top-scorer in the competition so far.
#9 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema has been magnificent for Real Madrid this year and was one of the bedrocks that their 2019-20 La Liga-winning campaign was built on.
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus in 2018, Benzema has become the fulcrum of the Real Madrid attack. And it is a responsibility that he has taken with glee.
The Frenchman already has 11 goals and five assists to his name this season, even in a rocky start to Real Madrid's season.
Los Blancos struggled through their UEFA Champions League group but eventually finished top. Benzema sealed first place with a brace in the final group game that saw Real beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0.
Overall in 2020, Benzema scored 19 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions and had 10 assists to his name. That makes him a worthy entrant in the top 10.
#8 Bruno Fernandes
To say that Bruno Fernandes has transformed Manchester United would be an understatement. Since his January move to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese midfielder has been central to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United revival.
When Fernandes arrived in January, United had just lost to lowly Burnley and were staring at another season without UEFA Champions League football.
However, the form picked up drastically with Fernandes's arrival, so much so that they eventually finished third in the Premier League last season.
They are also third in the league right now and could even go to second place if they win their game in hand.
With three more games still to play in the calendar year at the time of writing, Fernandes has 24 goals and 15 assists to his name this year.
#7 Joshua Kimmich
For Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich, Joshua Kimmich has been a critical player because of his ability to slot in at two different positions and deliver world-class performances from both those positions.
He has largely been used as a defensive midfielder for most of the year and has been vital to the high-pressing, high-intensity Bayern system under Flick.
However, in the most important tournament of the year for Bayern - the UEFA Champions League - Kimmich played as a right-back in the knockout stages.
Benjamin Pavard's injury meant that Bayern had to find a solution at right-back, and they found Kimmich to deliver big performances in the big games.
In the final - which Bayern Munich won 1-0 against Parish Saint-Germain - it was Kimmich who delivered the cross for Kingsley Coman to head home the winner.
#6 Neymar
Neymar was a whisker away from delivering the ultimate success for Paris Saint-Germain in 2020 but fell short at the final hurdle of the UEFA Champions League. PSG lost 1-0 to Bayern in the final, where they had enough chances to even tilt the game in their favor.
He played a big part in PSG reaching the final as well, with influential performances throughout the knockout stages of the competition.
He scored in both legs of the Round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund, which happened before the lockdown.
After that, he had an assist each in the quarter-final and semi-final, in which PSG beat Atalanta and RB Leipzig, respectively.
The French Ligue 1 did not resume to continue the 2019-20 season after the lockdown, with PSG being awarded the title by virtue of being top when the competition was suspended.
#5 Thomas Muller
Along with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller's transformation back into the world-class performer he was a few years ago is a credit to Hansi Flick's work at Bayern Munich.
With respect to Muller, Flick decided to get the German international back to what he does best. He played him in the role behind Robert Lewandowski, from where he could drift across the pitch.
With that freedom given to him, Muller was once again back to enjoying his role. In the second half of the Bundesliga last season, encompassing 17 games, Muller scored six goals and contributed 10 assists for Bayern Munich.
He also scored twice in Bayern Munich's 8-2 UEFA Champions League quarter-final win over Barcelona in August.
This season, Muller already has nine goals and 10 assists to his name in all competitions, as Bayern once again find themselves leading the race for the Bundesliga title.
#4 Kevin De Bruyne
Even though Manchester City didn't manage to win their third Premier League title in a row, Kevin De Bruyne had an excellent year on a personal level.
Last season in the Premier League, he managed to equal Thierry Henry's record for most assists in a single Premier League season, with 20.
That didn't really matter to the title race in the end, as City still finished 18 points behind eventual winners Liverpool.
There was a chance that De Bruyne could have been placed a little higher on this list, but, like the rest of the City team, he has had an indifferent start to the 2020-21 campaign.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo
The Serie A win for Juventus under Maurizio Sarri last season was a huge credit to Cristiano Ronaldo, as it would not have been possible without his goals.
However, the Portuguese's year has only gotten better under Andrea Pirlo, even if Juventus have not been able to get the results that they would have wished to.
Ronaldo has 12 goals in 10 Serie A games this season, but at the time of writing this, they are in danger of falling 10 points behind league leaders AC Milan.
Ronaldo also scored his 100th international goal for Portugal in 2020. However, that was in a campaign where Portugal could not make it through to the UEFA Nations League's knockout stages to defend the title that they had won in 2019.
#2 Lionel Messi
It has been a tumultuous year for Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but again one in which he carried the burden of the team all on his shoulders.
Last season, Messi broke the record for most assists in a single La Liga season, with 21. He broke Xavi's record that stood a decade.
However, that wasn't enough to help Barcelona beat Real Madrid to the La Liga title.
Messi and Barca were also embarrassed in the Champions League, where they lost the quarter-final 8-2 to Bayern Munich.
In the summer, Messi also had a saga surrounding his future at Barcelona, with the Argentine superstar coming close to leaving the club.
#1 Robert Lewandowski
Well, when you score 55 goals in a season, be the leader of a treble-winning squad, and then begin the next season with 20 goals in the first 18 games, there is only one winner possible.
Robert Lewandowski has had a record-breaking year for his club and was easily the best player in the world this year.
Under Flick, this Bayern side is not over-dependent on Lewandowski because of the talent that they do possess in other parts of the pitch. However, it would be stupid not to recognize how much worse off they would be without Lewandowski and his goals.
The biggest transformation with the Pole in recent times has been how rounded he has become as a striker. In addition to his wonderful goal-scoring abilities, Lewandowski is now also adept at playing a false nine role, if that is what is asked of him.
He was easily the best footballer in the world in 2020.
