Ranking the 5 best active footballers who wear No.11

#3 Angel Di Maria

Uruguay v Argentina - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifier

The Old Trafford is popularly known as the 'Theater of Dreams' and rightly so. But if there was one man who endured a straight-out nightmare in Manchester, it would have to be Angel Di Maria. The winger arrived with a big reputation in a €75m move to Manchester United and hit rock-bottom in his solitary season in England.

Few would have expected Di Maria to rise from the horror spell and get back to his best if not push the ceiling and break it. But the Argentine revived his career in France with Paris Saint Germain. He went into their history as the record assists provider with 117 and counting.

There's no doubt that he is one of the best to have worn the No.11 shirt. He has had to perform under the shadow of stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi for club and country. Despite that, Di Maria's made a name for himself.

He has always been a class support act without crying for attention. He has found ways to thrust himself into the limelight, upholding his professionalism. His vision and directness make him a continuous threat in the final third, for the Argentine can create goal scoring chances without taking much time.

The 33-year-old scored the all-important winner in the Copa America 2021 final. It was a goal without which Messi could well have been out of the Ballon d'Or running. He has won six top-flight titles in Europe, along with a Champions League title and multiple French domestic trophies.

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#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

AC Milan v US Sassuolo - Serie A

We can say that he's scored nearly 500 goals in senior club football and that he's 40. But he is still one of the best strikers in Serie A or in Europe for that matter. We can also say that he's won 31 trophies in his career, of which he's won major league titles in five different regions of Europe. By all means that will be enough to make Zlatan Ibrahimovic one of the best to ever don the No.11 jersey.

Or in typical Ibrahimovic fashion, we could just say, HE IS ZLATAN! The arrogance, the cheekiness, the savagery, the longetivity, the shithousery, he is a whole package and we would not change one thing. After making 803 club appearances, the big Swede is still going strong and we can only hope that he does not hang his boots soon.

This season, he has been in and out due to a knee injury and Achilles issue. In his nine Serie A appearances, he's come off the bench twice to ensure all three points. The centre-forward is PSG's second-all-time top scorer with 156 goals, just behind Edinson Cavani.

Throughout his life he has produced magic at crucial moments. Be it the brace that secured Scudetto for Inter Milan or the El Clasico winner for Barcelona in the 2009-10 season. Let's not forget the outrageous overhead kick vs England from 35 yards! He is a living miracle this one.

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#1 Mohamed Salah

Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League

There's only one place for the king; his throne. When we talk of those wearing the No.11 jerseys, the Egyptian King rightly sits at the summit of this list. Mohamed Salah is in red-hot form this season. If he keeps going at this pace, it will be difficult to keep track of the records he could break.

Just when the world thought they had seen the best of Mo Salah, he's only gone and broken the ceiling we assumed for him. In 20 appearances this season in the Champions League and Premier League, he has scored an astonishing 19 goals and provided 11 assists.

He became the first away player in the English top-flight to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford. This came when Liverpool humiliated Manchester United with a 5-0 scoreline. He's wriggling past defenders for fun, curling shots into the top corners with no effort whatsoever and outmuscling opponents in duels.

Salah has also now become the top scoring African in the Premier League with 110 goals and counting. He stood seventh in this year's Ballon d'Or rankings and our guess is that he's coming for it in 2022.