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We are already beyond the half-mark of season 2017-18 after witnessing a fair share of excitements, disappointments, joys and sorrows. Ranging from Ronaldo's drop in form to the rise of Kevin De Bruyne, this season is turning out to be equally exhilarating as the previous one.
It has also been a sort of a rollercoaster. While the old guard seems to have diminished a little, new faces have emerged in the game. Some of the best performers from last season have failed to replicate their form this year. Considering the current scenario, a lot of new players have taken the world by storm and it is about time for the list of the best footballers to undergo a change.
That being said, let's have a look at the ten best players in the world at the moment.
#10 David De Gea
David De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world right now, period.
Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as Manchester United boss, the Spaniard has been their best player through and through, winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award thrice since 2014. If it wasn't for him, the humiliation would have become frequent for the Red Devils considering their lacklustre defensive records in the past.
Speaking of the present, the United shot-stopper has maintained the highest number of clean sheets in the league(14). This slide would be incomplete without mentioning that solid performance versus Arsenal where he made a whopping 14 saves, equalling the record for the most saves in a single league game held by Tim Krul and Vito Mannone.
As they have done in the past, Manchester United will once again have to protect David De Gea from the prying eyes of Real Madrid this summer.
#9 Eden Hazard
Few would disagree over the prospect of having Eden Hazard in their starting XI. The Belgian has been at his imperious best as usual, although Chelsea's form has dropped considerably this season.
As of late, Eden Hazard has notched 12 goals and 4 assists in 33 appearances. The Belgian was instrumental in Chelsea's title-winning campaign last season and is set to play the same role this year, albeit with a change in the club's aims. The Blues have fallen to the fourth place in the league and they will require him in every game if they want to seal a Champions League place for the next season.
Added to that, Real Madrid are set to test their resolve to keep the 27-year-old this summer. If they do lose him, there's bound to be a change in the list of the most expensive footballers of all time.
#8 Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba was criticized a lot for his irregular performances last season, but the 24-year-old is back with a bang this season. The fact that he would perform well this season was inevitable after he grabbed award of Best Player of the UEFA Europa League last season.
Manchester United's decision to snap up Nemanja Matic from Chelsea has paid greater dividends and no one has benefited better from that deal than the Frenchman. As expected, he has flourished in an attacking role, becoming probably the most influential figure in the current Manchester United set-up. Pogba has 10 assists and 3 goals under his belt at the moment.
The likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos performing below expected levels have certainly improved his chances of entering this list. However, it would be a sin to think that he can't make it to the top 10 solely due to his footballing abilities.
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo hasn't performed well, but that doesn't mean he hasn't performed at all. Football aficionados certainly need to cut him some slack for his stats.
Scoring 20 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions isn't exactly disappointing, is it? The truth is. we have become habitual in seeing the 32-year-old scoring so much that the above stat seems average. It can be considered excellent if notched up by any other forward such as Romelu Lukaku or Alvaro Morata.
No doubt the downfall in his outlet of goals is surprising, but what's more alarming is how barely influential he can be while not scoring regularly.
Staying at the highest level becomes increasingly challenging as years pass by. If Ronaldo aims to be at the top, he definitely needs to follow Lionel Messi and work on the overall aspect of his game.
#6 Sergio Aguero
24 goals in 31 games — enough for Sergio Aguero to be counted amongst the most lethal footballers in the world at the moment. Since 2011, the Argentine marksman has been one of the best strikers to play in the Premier League.
What makes Sergio Aguero special is his consistency in scoring goals. Currently, in his seventh season as a Manchester City player, the no.10 has finished below the 20-goal mark only once. Along with David Silva and Yaya Toure, he boasts a lion's share of City's meteoric rise as one the world's biggest football clubs.
Coming to the national team, Aguero's absence due to injury was one of the main reasons why Argentina struggled to score goals. If he can replicate his fine form in the World Cup, La Albiceleste will definitely be one of the top contenders in the tournament this year.
#5 Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne has been the engineer behind Manchester City's swashbuckling brand of football. Frankly speaking, if this was a list of midfielders, the Belgian would have scooped the first prize by a mile.
The Belgian, scoring 11 and assisted another 14 this season, is an integral part of a well-oiled juggernaut under Pep Guardiola. The midfielder is bound to lay his hands on a number of accolades on both club and personal level this season.
Holding on to players like David Silva and Sergio Aguero is a crucial reason why the Citizens have succeeded in establishing themselves as a major powerhouse in the sport. Doing the same with the 26-year-old will be equally vital because, with the impressive performances he has put in, transfer bids are bound to flood in during the summer, though they have tied him up until 2023.
#4 Edinson Cavani
Long gone are the days when Edinson Cavani was forced to live under the shadow of a certain lion named Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Uruguayan has become Paris Saint Germain's talisman since the mighty Swede's departure to Manchester United.
Cavani has been benefited the most by the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The duo has been supplying him countless key passes this season and on his part, he has done justice to them by scoring a plethora of goals. As of now, Cavani has found the net 27 times in 32 games in all competitions. Adding a cherry on the cake, he also overtook Ibrahimovic as the club's all-time leading goalscorer in January.
Thanks to the consistency with which they have been firing goals, this season is bound to be a historical one for Paris Saint Germain. Should they win the Champions League, no doubt a large part of the credit will be down to the Uruguayan.
#3 Harry Kane
Harry Kane might not have won enough silverware, but his performances on the personal level are too hard to ignore. The 24-year-old has achieved some incredible feats this season. He scored more hattricks than Ronaldo and Messi in 2017 and also became the first player to overtake both of them in the Golden Boot race since Edin Dzeko in 2009.
After winning the Premier League Golden Boot for two successive seasons, he is topping the EPL scoring charts. And, it's not only the league, but the 24-year-old has been equally prolific in all competitions with an outstanding tally of 32 goals in 33 appearances to date.
The Englishman's dead-eye instincts in front of goal have seen him being linked to a host of top clubs. Should Tottenham fail to win trophies, they will definitely find hard to hold on to Kane, who will wish to decorate his career with major titles at the club level.
Should he decide to move, it won't be a surprise to see him beating Neymar as the world's most expensive player.
#2 Neymar
Shrugging off the astronomic pressure of a world record move, Neymar has continued tormenting defenders in France with Paris Saint Germain this season. With two fantastic accomplices in Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, the Brazilian demi-god has been at his belligerent best and looks ready to succeed Leo Messi as the best player in the coming days.
His outlet of goals has certainly increased by a mile after moving out of Messi's shadow. He has scored 27 goals and assisted another 14 in all competitions for Les Parisiens. His presence is the very reason why Paris Saint Germain have been tipped to win a cluster of trophies this season.
However, in spite of all of his excellent displays on the turf, the 25-year-old will need to add an extra bit of hard work if he dreams of being the best footballer on earth at the moment. In any other era, he would have been considered the best easily, but this is the age of Leo Messi we are talking about!
#1 Lionel Messi
Already in his thirties, Lionel Messi's eyes still show the same hunger and grit they demonstrated in his yesteryears. The Barca hitman has been motoring Barcelona towards victories, not showing even the tiniest sign of slowing down.
The consistency with which he has held the no.1 position is remarkable of course, but his to evolution from a goalscorer to an equally prolific playmaker deserves a worthy mention. As prolific as he is in finding the net, the Barca forward has been astoundingly good at creating chances for his fellow teammates to score.
Holding the top spot in both the goals and the assists charts is a fine testament to his claim as the best footballer at the moment.Messi has 10 assists and 29 goals under his belt right now and those numbers will surely increase massively as the season comes to a close.
Cristiano Ronaldo has underperformed this season and though Neymar is at his imperious best currently, the Brazilian needs to do a lot more to trounce the Argentinian to the Ballon d'Or this year.
