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The 2017-2018 season reached it concluding stage and most of the big leagues across Europe are almost over. Indeed, this season saw many surprises with new talents, transfer successes and so on across all the top five leagues in the world.
Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued to charm the fans with their performances and the names like Mohamed Salah and Kevin de Bruyne dominated their respective leagues and emerged as new global superstars.
The World Cup is just around the corner and there are a few players who will get much of the attention after their performances this season.
Right on this note, here is a list of the top five best players in the world based on their performances in the 2017-2018 season.
#5 Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the many players who will keep haunting Chelsea for selling him. The Belgian international failed to impress at Stamford Bridge and the club eventually sold him to Wolfsburg in 2014 after loaning him to Wender Bremen a year before.
He revived his career in the Bundesliga and won the Bundesliga Player of the Year award during the 2014-2015 season. His brilliant performances for Wolfsburg caught the attention of the money-rich, Manchester City and they gave him a second chance in the PL by signing him in 2015.
The Belgian international is the main source of creativity for the Cityzens and the former Chelsea midfielder already created 16 assists this term, alongside eight Premier League goals. He loves to take control of the game and naturally dictates the play for Manchester City going forward.
He was ranked as the fourth-best footballer by the English newspaper, The Guardian in 2017. With Pep Guardiola in charge of the Premier League champions, City, the future is certainly looking bright for de Bruyne and his fellow teammates.
#4 Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich's forward, Robert Lewandowski is certainly one of the world's most clinical strikers and is on a goal crusade this season too.
The Polish international scored nearly at the rate of a goal-per-game and already bagged 29 goals in the Bundesliga this season. His form in the DFB-Pokal is also impressive and the 29-year-old scored five goals in Bayern's existing run to the finals.
Lewandowski was Bundesliga's top goal-scorer in the 2014-2015 and the 2015-2016 seasons. He nearly missed on the Bundesliga Golden Boot last season but scored twice the goals of his nearest rival this season and is just a few games away from adding one more trophy to his already impressive cabinet.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker is scoring consistently at the top level and should be a serious threat to Ronaldo and Messi this season.
#3 Mohamed Salah
No player ever played their debut season at a club the way Mohamed Salah is playing for Liverpool this season. The Egyptian is nothing but a revelation since his move to Anfield and is considered as the biggest threat to the Ronaldo-Messi Ballon d'Or dominance.
The Egyptian is in a brilliant form and already netted 32 Premier League goals this season. The club's top goalscorer in all competitions, he played a vital part in Liverpool's impressive run to the finals of Europe's elite club competition.
The former Chelsea man's tendency to shine in the big games brought a huge chunk of his strikes this term against the big sides. He won the Champions League's Player of the Week award on three occasions along with three Player of the Month accolades in England's top tier - the most by any player in a single season.
With Liverpool currently excelling in the Champions League and Egypt already sealing their place in the World Cup, Salah can ponder his chances to win the Ballon d'Or if he continues to maintain his impressive form all year long.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
The Ballon d'Or 2017 winner, Cristiano Ronaldo started the season slowly but gathered the pace really soon and is at the second spot on this list.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 25 goals in the league this season and is just behind Lionel Messi on the list of La Liga's top scorers.
His performances in the Champions League are even more impressive and he is the top scorer of the tournament with 15 goals.
Real Madrid are in the final of the UEFA Champions League and Ronaldo will be looking forward to winning Europe's elite club competition to bolster his chances of lifting his sixth Ballon d'Or trophy.
#1 Lionel Messi
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner continued his brilliant performances throughout the 2017-2018 season and outperformed Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah to obtain the top spot on this list.
The Argentine won the Golden boot in La Liga this season with 34 strikes and was also among the top assist makers by playing part in 12 of his teammates' goals during the course of the season.
Although Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League by AS Roma in the quarter-finals, Lionel Messi was in a good form prior to the elimination and found the back of the net six times.
Barcelona already won the La Liga and the Copa del Rey this season, and a good time in Russia will put him in a driving seat to win the Ballon d'Or.
