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#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.
