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Football is a beautiful game. It has passion, excitement, energy and the power to bring people together. But the main reason for all of this is the players who play the game. They are the ones who create magic on the pitch that people love to watch.
They are the ones who turn the normal football fans into their religious followers. There are so many footballers around the globe but only a few of them make it to the top.
These players achieve the extraordinary to become the legends that they are. In this article, we will take a look at the top five football players in the world right now-
#5 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC, Egypt)
Liverpool signed Mohamed Salah in 2017 for just £34 million. Since then, he has taken the footballing world by storm. In total, Salah has scored 46 goals and assisted 18 for Liverpool FC till now.
He was the top goal scorer in the Premier League last season and was awarded the Golden Boot. He was also voted as the PFA Player Of The Year 2017.
Salah along with Mane and Firmino has been ranked as one of the most dangerous attacks in Europe. This attack almost won Liverpool their first Champions League in more than 10 years.
Mohamed Salah is also known as "The Egyptian King". And he sure proved the worth of this title. Salah's penalty goal against Congo led Egypt to a 1-0 victory.
This goal was historical as it qualified Egypt for the FIFA World Cup. It was the first time since 1990 that Egypt had made it to the World Cup.
But after recovering from a shoulder injury, Salah wasn't in the best form and Egypt was knocked out from the World Cup in the group stages.
Lack of trophies has kept Salah from being the very best. But looking at how he has performed in such a short amount of time, it makes him one of the top players in the world right now.
#4 Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, France)
Whenever there is talk about who is the best defender in the world, Sergio Ramos' name is thrown into the picture.
There is no doubt that the Real Madrid captain has been one of the great defenders for many years now. But another player in the Los Blancos defence who is often shadowed under Ramos is Raphael Varane.
In 2011, Varane joined Madrid from Lens when Jose Mourinho was the manager. It has taken some time for him to become a great defender, but he surely showed this summer why he is one of the best at this moment.
Raphael Varane was a key part of the World Cup winning French squad. Out of the seven matches that they played, four were clean sheets.
Teams struggled the most to get past the French defence. Varane was brilliant aerially and also while making crucial interceptions.
On a club level though, Varane has also won three consecutive Champions League titles with Real Madrid. Apart from the times when he was injured, he has been excellent in defence. He has worked very well in the attacking system for Real where he sits back as the only centre-back at times. A manager would only trust a world class defender to be in such a position.
There are many great defenders in the world. But Raphael Varane is seriously underrated considering the quality that he has.and that he's just 25 years old. And that is why he is one of the top five players in the world right now.
#3 Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
From being voted as the "Worst Signing of the Season" in La Liga 2012/13 season to being voted as UEFA's Player of the Year 2017/18, Luka Modric has achieved some major success in his struggling journey.
Modric has improved a lot as a player since he joined Los Blancos under Jose Mourinho. In terms of goals or assist, Modric might not have the best stats for a midfielder. But this only shows his unselfishness towards the game.
Modric is one of the best creative midfielders in the world right now. His partnership with Toni Kroos has proven to be the most dominating one in world football. Modric has had an average of 1.5 key passes per match with an accuracy of more than 83%.
This summer, Luka Modric took his status from best to an all-time legend. Modric captained his country Croatia to the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018. This task seemed impossible on paper but they still somehow managed to pull it off.
Croatia's squad is not the youngest so it was difficult for them to maintain the physicality throughout the competition.
Modric took his team out of tough situations more than once. For his stunning performance in the World Cup, he was awarded the Golden Ball (best player in the competition).
Modric deserves all the praise that he's getting at the moment. He has also been nominated for FIFA Best Player of the Year award. If Modric wins this too, he might be the one to mark an end to the Ronaldo-Messi Ballon D'Or saga
#2 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
Lionel Messi is the player who needs no introduction. He has been the best player in the history of FC Barcelona and many consider him as the greatest of all time. Messi has created a legacy that no other player will be able to do for a long time.
With more than 470 goals and 170 assists for FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi has left nothing to conquer at club level. He has won every possible trophy in Spain (on several occasions).
He was also a crucial part of Barcelona's treble-winning squad in 2015 having scored more than 50 goals. The list of achievements is huge in the case of Messi and it doesn't seem like he has any intention to slow down.
With all the great accolades under Messi's name, one major miss is an international trophy with his country Argentina.
Messi & co have had the chance to win the last two Copa America titles. But on both occasions, they were defeated by Chile. Argentina also had a poor show in the World Cup suffering major defeats against Croatia & France. Messi also did not look in the best form of his life although many will also blame the manager and other team members.
Messi is still chasing the dream of winning an international trophy. But even if he doesn't win one, it will not change the fact that he is one of the greatest players the game of football has ever had. And not putting him in this list would certainly be a disregard.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo stands at the very same level (if not above) of Lionel Messi. Ronaldo has done something that no other player could ever do before with Real Madrid.
Though everyone in the Los Blancos squad has to be given credit for what the team has achieved, Ronaldo has been the key factor in all of it. In his career at Madrid, Ronaldo has a total of 450 goals and 119 assists.
Ronaldo is known for his extraordinary Champions League performances on many occasions. He leads the UCL top goalscorer chart with 120 goals. He has been Madrid's best player in the knockout stages during their three consecutive title wins.
There is not much to differentiate between Messi & Ronaldo. But one of the most important title of his career is the UEFA Euro Cup 2016. Ronaldo inspired his underdog side Portugal to defeat France in the final.
Not many were expecting this result as France was really strong throughout the competition. Talking about the World Cup 2018, Ronaldo's Portugal was eliminated on the same day as Messi's Argentina. Two legends of the game may have possibly played their last World Cup and failed to win it.
In the biggest transfer of summer 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo shockingly left Real Madrid to join Juventus FC.
This is the third major league in Europe that Ronaldo will play in. It will not be easy for Cristiano. But if he can show similar form at Juventus, and win the Champions League with yet another club, he might just distinguish himself as the greatest ever footballer in the history of football.
Many fans would love to debate on this topic. But no one will deny the fact that both Ronaldo and Messi are the most deserving to be on this list.
Leave a comment below and let us know your top five footballers in the world right now.
