The Top 60 Footballers of 2020: Part Three

As 2020 draws to an end, I thought I’d take a reflection on some of the best footballers we’ve seen this year. This final part of the countdown shows us the top ten. These rankings are based solely on their performances in the calendar year of 2020. If you missed either of the first two parts, make sure to catch them here and here. Let’s begin…

 

10: SADIO MANE / LIVERPOOL AND SENEGAL

Salah scores. Firmino frenzies. But Mane terrifies. Any right-back playing against Liverpool knows they are in for a tough day. The relentless winger’s rapid movements and changes of pace make him near-impossible to defend against. Whenever he gets the ball, you know something is going to happen. Even if it looks like nothing is on, he can make it happen in the blink of an eye. Mane scored eighteen goals and six assists en route to Liverpool winning the league last season, but these numbers don’t tell the full story of his importance to the title: key winners against West Ham, Aston Villa, Norwich, Wolves. Clutch player.

 

9: KYLIAN MBAPPE / PSG AND FRANCE

Kylian Mbappe is a phenomenon. 151 career goals just a week after his 22^nd birthday is a stat that beggars belief – many great players don’t get that many in their whole career. This year, Mbappe has helped PSG to finally get to the Champions League final, but was very quiet for the 90 minutes in Lisbon. He has not quite been as wonderful as he was last year, relying too much on his pace at times. Yet despite this, he has started this season in typically prolific form – 12 goals in 13 appearances so far in Ligue 1. This freakish talent is set to be a major player in football for a long time to come. A thrilling footballer.

 

8: KEVIN DE BRUYNE / MANCHESTER CITY AND BELGIUM

This has not been a good year for Manchester City. They won just one piece of silverware (the most minor of them all, the Carabao Cup), lost their two-year ownership of the Premier League title, were beaten in the FA Cup semi-final, and once again failed to make it past the Champions League quarters. To top it all off, they haven’t started this season well – they look a shadow of the side from a few years ago. Credit then, to Kevin De Bruyne, who has still managed to be in splendid form this year, deservedly winning the PFA Player of the Year for the 2019/20 season after a stellar individual campaign which saw him hit the Premier League assist record, with 20, as well as thirteen goals. It is testament to his individual quality that in a side that haven’t been great, De Bruyne is the only City player in the top 60 countdown.

 

7: SERGIO RAMOS / REAL MADRID AND SPAIN

2020 has been a weird year for everyone, for many different reasons. None more so than centre-back Sergio Ramos becoming goalscorer extraordinaire for Real Madrid as they reeled in and overtook Barcelona to secure the La Liga title in July. He was simply monumental as he took on the responsibility for the team’s defence – and attack. With James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard offering nothing for different reasons, it was up to Ramos and Benzema to find the goals that Real needed. He never lost sight of his main duty though, leading a defence which conceded just a single goal in six matches after the season restarted. He has been the man when it counted this season too – changing the course of El Clasico at the Nou Camp in October, then returning from injury to lead the team through to the Champions League knockouts against Monchengladbach and a crucial derby win over Atletico this month.

 

6: VIRGIL VAN DIJK / LIVERPOOL AND NETHERLANDS

There are very few players, even on this list, who can do the job of two, or even three, people. I’m being 100% serious when I say that I could play at centre-back for Liverpool alongside Van Dijk. He’s good enough to see his partner through the game. Players improve simply because they have Van Dijk with them. Things improved on the pitch when the Dutchman arrived, obviously, but it shouldn’t be underestimated what kind of effect he had on the standards, culture and expectation around the club. Everything raised. And if Liverpool are able to win the league without him featuring for much of it this season, don’t see it as something that downplays Van Dijk’s importance. Instead, consider how he has elevated his team-mates and helped them raise their game so much since his arrival.

 

5: MOHAMED SALAH / LIVERPOOL AND EGYPT

A player who keeps on breaking records. His output and numbers are remarkably consistent and he is a player who never goes long without a goal. Salah hit 19 goals and ten assists last season as Liverpool were crowned champions of England, and this season has been performing at a whole different level. 16 goals in all competitions so far this season, which means he is now into Liverpool’s top fifteen goalscorers of all time, ahead of the likes of John Barnes, Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez. As well as his goalscoring exploits, Salah has added plenty to his game in terms of hold-up play, contribution to the build-up and his defensive duties, offering cover and tracking for his partner in crime Trent Alexander-Arnold.

 

4: LIONEL MESSI / BARCELONA AND ARGENTINA

Last season, Messi did not feature until October because of a shoulder injury. Yet he ended it as La Liga’s top scorer, top chance-creator, top dribbler and top assister. He was still the best player in Spain despite starting the season two months behind everyone else. He has ten goals and five assists in 18 matches so far this season, still managing to contribute despite his team’s troubles. This is a year which has featured no trophies – team or individual – for Messi, some embarrassing results (Bayern, Osasuna, Cadiz, Juventus) and a much-publicised soap opera in which the Argentinian looked, for the first time in his career, like his future might be elsewhere. This has arguably been the worst year in Messi’s career in terms of his performances, and yet he has still produced quality the like of which most players on this list could only dream of in their best moments. If this is Messi at his weakest, then perhaps the fact he has still been the 4^th best footballer on the planet this year should go some way to demonstrating what a ludicrous talent he is. Quite simply the greatest.

 

3: CRISTIANO RONALDO / JUVENTUS AND PORTUGAL

The relentlessness of Ronaldo is what makes him the football great that he is. In the year that he scored his 750^th career goal, the Portuguese legend proved that he’s still got it with a sensational goalscoring year in the black and white of Juventus. Ronaldo now has 81 goals and 19 assists in 103 games for the Old Lady, quite audacious numbers, and yet this is still a departure from what he was doing at Real Madrid. Sure, there has been some decline, but like Messi, his era in decline is still far better than what most can produce. He also hit his 100^th goal for Portugal, becoming the first European player ever to achieve such a feat. 2020 has seen him score 43 goals in 45 matches for club and country. Not bad for one of his quieter years. He turns 36 in a matter of weeks and is still setting the standard for the sport.

 

2: THIAGO ALCANTARA / BAYERN MUNICH, LIVERPOOL AND SPAIN

A player whose vision to find gaps in any defence opened so many doors for Bayern Munich en route to the Champions League win. A player who started every game for the German side in that campaign, winning man of the match in the final. A player who – making his Premier League debut at half-time away at Chelsea – broke the league record for the number of passes made in a half. This is someone who is effortlessly influential in whatever team he is playing in. His passing, composure and vision are attributes that define him, that mean he could seamlessly slot into any football team in the world and manage to dominate the game and pull the strings. This was evidenced most clearly in his decision to move on after seven years at Bayern Munich, having finally got his hands on the biggest prize. It was his quality and genius that forced Liverpool to part from their long-term transfer policy and bring him to Anfield. 48 hours after joining, he was on the pitch at half time, to replace Jordan Henderson. After 31 minutes, he’d made more passes than any Chelsea player. Liverpool are waiting to see more of Thiago, after an injury in his second appearance, in which he also got man of the match, but we’ve seen more than enough of him at Bayern to know that he’s been one of the footballers of the year.

 

1: ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI / BAYERN MUNICH AND POLAND

The Polish marksman has been racking up goals like they are going out of fashion this year, scoring 45 in total. Without any context, that’s magnificent. When you then consider that he has hit those 45 goals in 39 games, then we’re talking about someone who is defying logic. There have been, in the past, accusations of Lewandowski not doing enough in the big games. He has well and truly set the record straight on that one, scoring five times in the Champions League knockouts. Perhaps most interestingly though, is the six assists he got in those games. He is so much more of a complete player than he once was. One that can bring others into play. One that can drag defenders with him to create room for others. One that is a proper team player. At 32, he’s playing the best stuff of his career. The best footballer in 2020.

 

Quite a few players that would normally make the list have not managed to this year. Manchester City quartet Ederson, Aymeric Laporte, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero missed out through a mix of injury and form, while ex-City man Leroy Sane also came close. Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez have swapped clubs, but neither quite did enough to make the top 60. Kingsley Coman and Jerome Boateng over at Bayern were unlucky to miss out, but there were so many strong contenders from the Munich team. Young guns Giovanni Reyna, Phil Foden, Ansu Fati, Curtis Jones and Eduardo Camavinga have made great strides this year, but didn’t quite do enough, while there was no place for established Premier League stars N’Golo Kante, David De Gea, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Toby Alderweireld. On the continent, Paulo Dybala, Marc Andre-Ter Stegen, Hakim Ziyech, Lucas Ocampos, Duvan Zapata and Lautaro Martinez were all considered.

The 60 by club:

10: Liverpool
9: Bayern Munich
6: Real Madrid
5: PSG
4: Atletico Madrid
3: Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur
2: Borussia Dortmund, Lazio
1: AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, Atalanta, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Everton, Inter, Juventus, Leicester City, Lyon, Manchester City, Manchester United, Rangers, RB Salzburg, Real Sociedad, Sporting CP, Toronto FC

The 60 by league:
21: Premier League
15: Bundesliga
12: La Liga
6: Ligue 1, Serie A
1: MLS, Austrian Bundesliga, Portuguese League, Scottish Premiership, Eredevisie

The 60 by position:

Goalkeeper: 5
Right Back: 2
Centre Back: 6
Left Back: 2
Central midfielder: 10
Attacking midfielder: 9
Right winger: 6
Left winger: 5
Striker: 15

The 60 by nationality:

8: Germany
7: England, Spain
6: Brazil
4: France
3: Belgium, Portugal, Netherlands, Argentina
2: Austria
1: Hungary, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Senegal, Egypt, Serbia, Canada, Sweden, Gabon, Croatia, Scotland, Slovenia, Italy

The 60 by age:

20 years old: 4
21 years old: 2
22 years old: 4
23 years old: 2
24 years old: 1
25 years old: 4
26 years old: 5
27 years old: 4
28 years old: 9
29 years old: 5
30 years old: 4
31 years old: 2
32 years old: 4
33 years old: 3
34 years old: 3
35 years old: 2
36 years old: 1
39 years old: 1