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We are nearing the end of 2017/18 European season. League titles in some of Europe’s top flight leagues are already decided and European competitions have entered its semifinals stage.
Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year was announced recently and many of the top Premier League footballers made the list.
The race for European Golden Shoe is getting intense, and unlike previous years, Messi and Ronaldo's domination has been challenged by players like Salah and Lewandowski. The 2017/18 season has witnessed some terrific football so far and some of the players were simply exceptional.
Without much ado, let's take a look at the 10 best footballers in the world this season.
#10 Ciro Immobile, SS Lazio
Ciro Immobile is the best striker in Serie A this season. The Italian has easily outscored Mauro Icardi, Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Dries Mertens, and Edin Dzeko this term.
With 27 goals and 9 assists, the 28-year-old has been phenomenal for Lazio this campaign. Lazio is fourth in the Serie A standings, thanks to some excellent contributions by the Italian striker.
He is a creative player with an eye for goal all the time. He is brilliant in the air and creates opportunities for his teammates with his clever offensive movements. Though we may not see him in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he has already done enough to stake his claim as one of the best forwards in the world right now.
#9 Neymar Jr, PSG
World's most expensive player was brilliant for Paris Saint-Germain ever since his summer move, but a foot injury prematurely ended his 2017/18 campaign.
The Brazilian striker has scored 28 goals and assisted 16 more for PSG this season. Deployed by Unai Emery on the left side of an attacking front three, Neymar took the Ligue One by storm with his flair and skills.
His pace, vision, creativity, finishing, and dribbling are regarded as his greatest virtues. He can single-handedly influence a game and is an accurate free-kick and penalty taker. He averages 7.1 dribbles per game this season, which is unbelievably spectacular.
#8 Roberto Firmino, Liverpool
Firmino is one of the most underrated players in world football. When Mo Salah stole all the attention, the Brazilian has been an unsung hero for Liverpool this season.
He led the line brilliantly and formed a ruthless partnership with Salah and Mane. with 8 goals and 4 assists, Firmino is only behind the Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of goal scoring contributions in the UEFA Champions League 2017/18.
The 26-year-old has scored a total of 24 goals and assisted 11 more in all competitions for Liverpool this campaign. Roberto Firmino possesses all the qualities of a modern day centre-forward and suits Jurgen Klopp's pressing system. His work ethic and selflessness have garnered a lot of praise.
#7 Edinson Cavani, PSG
Cavani is one of the most powerful and aggressive strikers in the world. The 31-year-old is a complete striker, capable of scoring goals with both feet. He is exceptional in the air with some great physical strength and is capable of scoring some spectacular goals.
The Uruguayan striker has scored 36 goals and assisted 6 more for Paris Saint-Germain this campaign. His partnership with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is one of the best attacking combinations in Europe this season.
Edinson Cavani is Ligue One's top goal scorer this season as PSG won the league title comfortably. He certainly ranks amongst the top five strikers in the world right now.
#6 Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
He is undoubtedly Premier League’s best no.9 for quite some time. The winner of Premier League Golden Boot for the last two years, Harry Kane has been a consistent performer for Mauricio Pochettino.
The 24-year-old has scored 37 goals and assisted 4 more for Tottenham Hotspur this season. He was prolific in front of goal and led the line to perfection. He is dangerously accurate and rarely miss the target.
He does not hesitate to shoot when he gets an opportunity inside the box and more often than not, gets his shot away very quickly. Kane’s hold up play is brilliant and it has helped Tottenham to create a lot of goal scoring opportunities.
#5 Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City
Arguably the best midfielder in the world at the moment, Kevin de Bruyne has been a phenomenal performer for Manchester City this season. He was instrumental in their Premier League title win.
The Belgian international has scored 11 times and assisted 19 more for Manchester City this campaign. He averages 3.1 key passes per game in Premier League this season, which is simply exceptional.
Kevin de Bruyne is a technically gifted playmaker, known for his vision, passing abilities, and creativity. He does not afraid to shoot and is brilliant from set pieces. He is a complete player and there is absolutely nothing this man cannot do on a football pitch at the moment.
#4 Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski is the only player on this list with a chance of winning the treble this season. The Polish striker was brilliant for Bayern Munich this campaign and has scored a lot of goals.
Lewandowski was supremely consistent this season and has scored 38 goals in Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and UEFA Champions League. A prolific finisher with both feet, Robert Lewandowski is regarded for his pace, strength, aerial prowess, positional sense, and quick feet.
The 29-year-old averages an impressive 73 minutes per goal in Bundesliga this campaign. He is playing the best football of his career at the moment and arguably the best no.9 in the world right now.
#3 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Not often we see Lionel Messi as the third best footballer of the season. Though he is amongst the goals this campaign, 2017/18 hasn’t been a great season for the Argentine striker, given the high standards he set for himself.
Lionel Messi has scored 35 goals and assisted 14 more in La Liga and UEFA Champions League this season. Though the Catalan giants are unbeaten in the league, they were knocked out of the Champions League by AS Roma in the quarterfinals.
He handled the goal scoring pressure well, after the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain. Lionel Messi has every chance to win his fifth Pichichi award this season.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
After a subdued start to the 2017/18 season, the dragon in him just woke up at the right time and is tearing apart the opponents.
The 4 times UEFA Champions League winner has scored 15 goals already in the competition this year. Also, he scored 24 in the La Liga this season. The 33-year-old was brilliant in the win against Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in the Champions League round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively.
Though Real Madrid missed out on the La Liga title this season, they have every chance to make it a hat-trick of UEFA Champions League titles. Ronaldo has climbed up this list because of his scintillating performances since January.
#1 Mo Salah, Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp pulled a masterclass when he paid £36.9 million to sign the Egyptian from AS Roma last summer. Mo Salah has been a revelation in European football this season, taking Liverpool to third in the league standings and to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League 2017/18.
The 25-year-old has scored 38 goals in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League so far. Playing on the right in an attacking role, Salah averages 86 mins per goal in Premier League this season.
The Egyptian was ruthless in front of goal this season as has scored some beautiful solo goals. His first touch, dribbling, and ball control were simply phenomenal this campaign. UEFA Champions League title win could land him the Ballon d’Or award this year.
Honorable Mentions:
Sergio Aguero
Luis Suarez
David de Gea
