12 11 12 Sergio Aguero - Argentina - Manchester City
11 9 14 Mesut Özil - Germany - Real Madrid
10 10 34 Robin Van Persie - Netherlands - Arsenal
9 8 17 David Silva - Spain - Manchester City
8 20 61 Andrea Pirlo - Italy - Milan to Juventus
7 6 7 Cesc Fabregas - Spain - Arsenal
6 7 13 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden - Milan

Okay, I'm not even sure I have very strong opinions on much of the ordering here. Maybe except Aguero being the lowest. I do like that one, but as far as the rest goes, cases right now seem like they can be made for just about anything. Just now I've switched Fabregas with Zlatan and Pirlo not long ago was still behind Özil (who was ahead of RvP) and Silva.

Overall I'll just barely acknowledge inconsistency from Özil this season and though I generally like what he brings over forwards, Van Persie's season and extraordinary play for a long time now (in comparison Aguero as bizarre as it might sound has a tiny bit disappointingly, for good, it's mostly that, and bad, largely "just" been an excellent goalscorer) should go ahead.

Not being a key player right now hurts Fabregas but for now at least not quite enough that I want to drop him. This is where the "awful" (in baseball you would never have to) imagination comes in (but this is one proven guy) and I think almost anywhere Fabregas would be the superb number 10 creating chance after chance for others (his through-ball on the ground is probably the best in football) and scoring a good amount also himself with those really good runs of his. I believe those things compare well to the people behind and if anything can drop him it's more his fitness struggles I think.

Pirlo is almost worth a chapter himself. I've always praised the fantastic deep-lying playmaker Pirlo and his importance in all those triumphs that before this season was starting to seem like a long time ago. I'll just say that between 2001 and 06-07 there were probably quite a few periods where he was the best player in the world.

This season might have been the first time in his career though where he would orchestrate in a real 4-3-3 variant as Juventus often played and even in the 3-5-2 it was always part of a quality three-man (non diamond or Milan christmas-tree) quality (outnumbering) central midfield and a defense that insisted on always building on the ground from the back. He wasn't just the older slower deep-lying playmaker in his sleep still finding direct runs from the attackers, he did that great too, but more than anything else he was the closest thing to Xavi. Unfortunately these stats only go back so far, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's never had as many touches, as many passes as he saw this season. It worked out beautifully of course with Pirlo conducting Juventus unbeaten through the season.

Well, I'm starting to get sleepy but might as well post the rest. I'll post more tomorrow and then asap (I MUST I MUST I WILL I WILL!) start writeups on the blog. Thanks everyone for the interest!

5 5 5 Wayne Rooney - England - Manchester United
4 4 4 Andrés Iniesta - Spain - Barcelona
3 3 2 Xavi - Spain - Barcelona
2 2 3 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - Real Madrid
1 1 1 Lionel Messi - Argentina - Barcelona

So no change here!

I didn't even entertain the idea of Iniesta taking Xavi's spot. I can finally see it happening soon but I just don't think it can be justified right now when you compare their impact over the season.

After the Euros it's easy to forget the rest of Rooney's season but I don't think too much stock should be put into a few games on a dire team.

If anyone of those five should be dropped, it's him though. Definitely.

Fabregas didn't really have a strong enough second part of the season. The opposite in fact and shouldn't there still be some Man U vs Arsenal factor going?

Pirlo I guess is an argument at least. Tough to say. I can't get myself to put Silva ahead of Fabregas but it goes to show how hopeless this can be, that I think he has more of an argument over Rooney.

Rooney still does more than Aguero I think but if he has one of those prolonged struggles down the line of course a brilliant attacker like that can pass him.

And finally,

Messi is the best playmaker in the world. The best goalscorer in the world. The best player in the world.

yeah this summer was the first time it occurred to me that Iniesta might be better than Xavi.

i think the time that it becomes obviously true is coming soon...

Iniesta>Xavi now for me and Fabregas can't stay that high if he doesn't usually start imo.

Lack of either Ameobi brother makes list null and void

Seriously though, superb work Bjorn, great read

stacked team is stacked, what you gonna do?

Xavi is still >> Iniesta, but it is getting closer. Xavi looked worse than he is in the Euros due to fatigue.

Imo Iniesta > Xavi. Rooney probably too high for me, but I've never been a fan. Aguero could easily be a couple spots higher. Pirlo is great, but with him you really seem to be going for the player of the year route which you said this wasn't when ranking Schweini. Lahm I'd definitely put ahead of Maicon and Marcelo.

But these are all just opinions - beauty of football. Great list, thanks for doing this.

Nice job. Looking forward to the write ups. Xavi / Iniesta are close but it doesn't matter whether one is 3 or 4. Good to see Rooney up there as his value is often overlooked. 5 is a reasonable ranking. Zlatan often underrated too. Cesc was wonderful at the Euros and deserves his ranking. Also I agree on Aguero. Still think he can take his game to an extra level and be a top 5 player.

Well he would be #5 in the world with a permanent starting spot so it did hurt him

Awesome read, ty for posting.

If I could snap my fingers and get any striker I wanted for ~3 seasons...it may very well be Falcao.

Dunno how crazy that is (I concider Messi and CR7 midfielders)

Iniesta, apart from maybe Messi, can do the most difficult things of anyone when it comes to close-control.

I wouldn't say he flatters to deceive (remember this was sometimes even said of Zidane) or he wouldn't be ranked where he was. Those insanely difficult things that he is able to do, often well hidden from various stats, make Barcelona even better but a season with this few goals (in La Liga amazingly he only scored two! Two! Even Xavi has 10) and as I remember it somewhat of a letdown in the CL, in the stats arguably not coming through 1v1 at his usual rate, matched up against Xavi's impact of getting close to double the amount of tiki taka passes and touches and I don't even think it's written in stone that Iniesta, directly or indirectly create more chances than Xavi. Overall then, I just don't think Iniesta's argument, based on this season, is all that strong.

About Fabregas, he basically started as much as many others (+3 and more minutes compared Iniesta), but apart from a very promising start where he was so dangerous moving into the area, you can't really say he was a key-player compared to quite a few others. That's what I meant when I brought it up.

Excellent, thanks guys.

Ugh, I forget to correct the copy-paste sometimes

Iniesta > Xavi for sure imo

Bjorn, do you have a list sorted by team or total numbers in the top 300 for each team?

well its really tough to be sure, but

Iniesta's dribbling is on another level compared to Xavi
While Xavi's passing is still clearly superior
But Iniesta is also much much more threatening in front of goal and probably more versatile, though that doesn't really matter too much when you play a key position better than anyone in the world basically.

No number 13?
Great read though, thanks

I had forgotten to post Nani at 30 and didn't realize until there it got messed up.

Here is 300-90

300 Cristian Tello - Spain - Barcelona
299 298 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - England - Arsenal
298 Eduardo salvio - Argentina - Atletico Madrid
297 Garay - Argentina - Benfica
296 Miranda - Brazil - Atletico Madrid
295 Gündogan - Germany - Dortmund
294 Raúl García - Spain- Osasuna
293 Luciano Narsingh - Netherlands - Heerenveen
292 295 264: Deco - Portugal - Fluminese -
291 266 185: Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica - Fulham
290 284 284: Rafael - Brazil - Manchester United

289 279 Hugo Campagnaro - Argentina - Napoli
288 270 209: Aaron Lennon - England - Tottenham -
287 Andoni Iraola - Spain- Athletic Bilbao
286 Ben Arfa - France - Newcastle
285 Luisao - Brazil - Benfica
284 275 Fabrizio Miccoli - Italy - Palermo
283 Adriano - Brazil - Barcelona
282 Luis Gustavo - Brazil - Bayern München
281 Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa - France - Montpellier
280 Gael Clichy - France - Manchester City

279 Johnny Evans - Northern Ireland - Man United
278 290 Gary Medel - Chile - Sevilla
277 Markel Susaeta - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
276 286 233: Gabi - Spain - Atletico Madrid
275 Jakub Blaszczykowski - Poland - Dortmund
274 288 Felipe Melo - Brazil - Galatasaray/Juventus
273 251 Cristian Ledesma - Italy - Lazio
272 280 Mathieu Debuchy - France - Lille
271 277 Granit Xhaka - Switzerland - Gladbach
270 267 Dries Mertens - Belgium - PSV

269 241 137: Milos Krasic - Serbia - Juventus
268 249 199: Alberto Aquilani -Italy -Liverpool/Milan
267 234 146: Dejan Stankovic - Serbia - Inter
266 238 175: Balázs Dzsudzsák - Hungary - Anzhi/Dynamo M
265 239 135: Theo Janssen - Netherlands - Ajax
264 224 95 Dirk Kuyt - Netherlands - Liverpool/Fenerbahce
263 257 213: Moussa Sow - Senegal - Fenerbahce
262 258 Fred - Brazil - Fluminense
261 203 Tom Cleverley - England - Manchester United
260 227 202: Adam Johnson - England - Manchester City

259 204 183: Ivica Olic - Croatia - Bayern München/Wolfsburg
258 193 124: Ji Sung Park - South Kora - Manchester United/QPR
257 233 179: Juan Manuel Vargas - Peru - Fiorentina
256 213 240: Mauricio Isla - Chile - Udinese/Juventus
255 218 248: Juan - Brazil - Roma -
254 215 262: Kim Källström - Sweden - Lyon
253 212 219: Aaron Ramsey - Wales - Arsenal
252 250 269: Antonio Reyes - Spain - Atletico Madrid/Sevilla
251 231 Stephan Lichtsteiner - Switzerland - Juventus
250 243 Senad Lulic - Bosnia Herzegovina - Lazio

249 276 Kwadwo Asamoah - Ghana - Udinese/Juventus
248 269 234: Antonio Nocerino - Italy - Milan
247 237 156: Marko Marin - Germany - Werder Bremen/Chelsea
246 196 134: Anderson - Brazil - Manchester United -
245 205 74 Florent Malouda - France - Chelsea
244 240 142: Jon Obi Mikel - Nigeria - Chelsea
243 208 161: Alessandro Matri - Italy - Juventus
242 222 216: Ivan Rakitić - Croatia - Sevilla
241 232 Benoit Assou-Ekotto - Cameroon - Tottenham
240 Andrea Barzagli - Italy - Juventus

239 209 296: Daniel Sturridge - England - Chelsea
238 Gylfi Sigurðsson - Iceland - Hoffenheim/Swansea/Tottenham
237 207 229: Alex - Brazil - Fenerbahce -
236 167 215: Mamadou Sakho - France - PSG
235 271 Isco - Spain - Malaga
234 219 157: John Terry - England - Chelsea
233 188 Micah Richards - England - Manchester City
232 220 282: Anatolij Tymoshchuk - Ukraine - Bayern München
231 230 Adrián - Spain - Atletico Madrid
230 287 Michu - Spain - Rayo Vallecano

229 223 299: Holger Badstuber - Germany - Bayern München
228 160 97: Ricardo Carvalho - Portugal - Real Madrid
227 217 153: Sandro - Brazil - Tottenham
226 214 295: Chiek Tiote - Ivory Coast - Newcastle
225 211 190: Gareth Barry - England - Manchester City
224 182 88 David Pizarro - Chile - Roma/Manchester City
223 158 91 Gervinho - Ivory Coast - Arsenal
222 189 141 168: James Milner - England - Manchester City
221 Oscar - Brazil - Internacional
220 225 Daniel Agger - Denmark - Liverpool

219 Dede - Brazil - Vasco da Gama
218 285 Younes Kaboul - France - Tottenham
217 262 Fabricio Coloccini - Argentina - Newcastle
216 Nikica Jelavic - Croatia - Everton
215 245 Bender, Lars - Germany - Leverkusen
214 278 Luuk de Jong - Netherlands - Twente
213 282 Roman Shirokov - Russia - Zenit
212 159 102: Lucio - Brazil - Inter/Juventus
211 210 Pablo Zabaleta - Argentina - Manchester City
210 192 189: Theo Walcott - England - Arsenal

209 191 115: Ashley Young - England - Manchester United
208 261 277: Clint Dempsey - USA - Fulham
207 260 Pablo Aimar - Argentina - Benfica
206 291 Gastón Ramírez - Uruguay - Bologna
205 235 111: Ibrahim Afellay - Netherlands - Barcelona
204 255 Rodrigo Palacio - Argentina - Genoa/Inter
203 175 201: Loic Remy - France - Marseille
202 256 Seydou Doumbia - Côte d'Ivoire - CSKA Moscow
201 186 191: Francesco Totti - Italy - Roma
200 228 166: Andrei Arshavin - Russia - Arsenal/Zenit

199 Mario Mandzukic - Croatia - Wolfsburg
198 190 67 Lucas Barrios - Paraguay - Dortmund/Guangzhou
197 194 Javi García - Spain - Benfica
196 229 165: Alvaro Negredo - Spain - Sevilla
195 226 212: Alexandr Kerzhakov - Russia - Zenit
194 206 Jonas - Brazil - Valencia
193 259 Leandro Damião - Brazil - Internacional
192 180 104: Patrice Evra - France - Manchester United
191 179 75 Ashley Cole - England - Chelsea
190 177 252: Alvaro Arbeloa - Spain - Real Madrid

189 195 Kevin Strootman - Netherlands - PSV
188 197 273: Neven Subotic - Serbia - Dortmund
187 201 Fernandinho - Brazil - Shaktar
186 181 113: Raul Meirelles - Portugal - Chelsea
185 184 Stéphane Sessegnon - Benin - Sunderland
184 154 107: Ryan Giggs - Wales - Manchester United
183 187 Nigel De Jong - Netherlands - Manchester City
182 Moussa Dembélé - Belgium - Fulham
181 129 73 Yoann Gourcuff - France - Lyon
180 128 122: Kevin Gameiro - France - PSG

179 126 85 Giampaolo Pazzini - Italy - Inter
178 216 258: Domenico Criscito - Italy - Zenit
177 171 210: Oscar Cardozo - Paraguay - Benfica
176 199 276: Andres Guardado - Mexico - Deportivo La Coruna/Valencia
175 105 133: Andre Ayew - Ghana - Marseille
174 149 235: Mathieu Valbuena - France - Marseille
173 183 246: Darijo Srna - Croatia - Shaktar Donetsk
172 178 254: Landon Donovan - USA - LA Galaxy
171 151 123: Mirko Vucinic - Montenegro - Juventus
170 172 121: Luis Fabiano - Brazil - Sao Paulo

169 169 220: Marvin Martin - France - Sochaux/Lille
168 137 244: Christian Eriksen - Denmark - Ajax
167 157 138: Keisuke Honda - Japan - CSKA Moscov
166 174 278: James Rodriguez - Colombia - FC Porto
165 166 214: Adil Rami - France - Valencia
164 Younès Belhanda - Morocco - Montpellier
163 168 Ander Herrera - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
162 185 160: Jefferson Farfan - Peru - Schalke 04/?
161 161 120: David Luiz - Brazil - Chelsea
160 200 289: Sebastian Giovinco - Italy - Parma/Juventus

159 156 150: Thomas Vermaelen - Belgium - Arsenal
158 131 109: Robinho - Brazil - Milan
157 173 Olivier Giroud - France - Montpellier
156 125 87 Jack Wilshire - England - Arsenal
155 110 84 Rio Ferdinand - England - Manchester United
154 124 177: Scott Parker - England - Tottenham
153 145 131: Mark Van Bommel - Netherlands - Milan/PSV
152 176 268: Thiago Motta - Italy - Inter/PSG
151 144 71 Lucho Gonzalez - Argentina - Marseille/Porto
150 94 65 Mikel Essien - Ghana - Chelsea

149 135 154: Yann M'Vila - France - Rennes
148 130 224: Jadson - Brazil - Shaktar Donetsk
147 147 265: Kevin Prince Boateng - Ghana - Milan
146 170 181: Bruno Soriano - Spain -Villarreal
145 236 205: Papiss Cisse - Senegal - Freiburg/Newcastle
144 David Alaba - Austria - Bayern München
143 292 Łukasz Piszczek - Poland - Dortmund
142 102 62 Diego Forlan - Uruguay - Inter/Internacional
141 146 164: Michel Bastos - Brazil - Lyon
140 89 152: Ganso - Brazil - Santos/?

139 165 174: Joaquin - Spain - Malaga
138 163 136: Branislav Ivanovic - Serbia - Chelsea
137 143 92 Pepe - Portugal - Real Madrid
136 141 Paul Scholes - England - Manchester United
135 119 249: Arda Turan - Turkey - Atletico Madrid
134 148 Willian - Brazil -Shakhtar Donetsk
133 134 149: Marouane Fellaini - Belgium - Everton
132 132 77 Fernando Torres - Spain -Chelsea
131 108 144: Lass Diarra - France - Real Madrid
130 118 180: Danny - Portugal - Zenit

129 115 125: Andre Schürrle - Germany - Leverkusen
128 133 207: Roberto Soldado - Spain - Valencia
127 136 223: Jeremy Toulalan - France - Malaga
126 121 218: Lucas - Brazil - Sao Paolo
125 150 171: Jeremy Menez - France - PSG
124 140 Jordi Alba - Spain - Valencia/Barcelona
123 120 Axel Witsel - Belgium - Benfica
122 87 94 Fabio Coentrao - Portugal - Real Madrid
121 93 163: Mario Balotelli - Italy - Manchester City
120 127 Danny Welbeck - England - Manchester United

119 164 130: Gokhan Inler - Switzerland - Napoli
118 142 170: Jan Vertonghen - Belgium - Ajax/Tottenham
117 109 100: Eric Abidal - France - Barcelona
116 122 105: Giorgio Chiellini - Italy - Juventus
115 139 271: Miroslav Klose - Germany - Lazio
114 123 116: Mikel Arteta - Spain - Arsenal
113 103 106: Michael Carrick - England - Manchester United
112 117 167: Miralem Pjanic - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Roma
111 116 140: Nene - Brazil - PSG
110 114 145: Raul - Spain - Schalke 04/Al Sadd

109 113 Demba Ba -Senegal - Newcastle
108 111 103: Gerard Pique - Spain - Barcelona
107 152 Laurent Koscielny - France - Arsenal
106 112 110: Riccardo Montolivo - Italy - Fiorentina/Milan
105 98 81 Jesus Navas - Spain - Sevilla
104 107 148: Claudio Marchisio - Italy - Juventus
103 106 Xherdan Shaqiri - Switzerland - Basel/Bayern München
102 84 37 Alexandre Pato - Brazil - Milan
101 104 158: Carlos Puyol - Spain - Barcelona
100 95 93 Javier Zanetti - Argentina - Inter

99 82 38 Dimitar Berbatov - Bulgaria - Manchester United
98 86 128: Lucas Leiva - Brazil - Liverpool
97 88 79 Joao Moutinho - Portugal - FC Porto
96 101 169: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Argentina - Napoli/PSG
95 85 27 Nuri Sahin - Turkey - Dortmund
94 81 69 Esteban Cambiasso - Argentina - Inter
93 83 44 Pedro - Spain - Barcelona
92 78 23 Giuseppe Rossi - Italy - Villarreal
91 77 39 Antonio Di Natale - Italy - Udinese
90 79 50 Edin Dzeko - Bosnia/Herzegovina - Manchester City

and with six short the last 84:

84 76 26 Steven Gerrard - England - Liverpool
83 53 41 Kaka - Brazil - Real Madrid
82 65 230: Nicolas Gaitan - Argentina - Benfica
81 44 89 Ever Banega - Argentina - Valencia
80 62 70 Nemanja Vidic - Serbia - Manchester United

79 72 83 Bacary Sagna - France - Arsenal
78 75 60 Ramires - Brazil - Chelsea
77 70 21 Samir Nasri - France - Manchester City
76 97 132: Alex Song - Cameroun - Arsenal
75 74 117: Stevan Jovetic - Montenegro - Fiorentina
74 69 59 Hulk - Brazil - FC Porto
73 99 143: Javi Martinez - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
72 66 114: Yohan Cabaye - France - Newcastle
71 55 42 Javier Hernandez - Mexico - Manchester United
70 56 24 Frank Lampard - England - Chelsea

69 58 78 Philipp Lahm - Germany - Bayern München
68 52 55 Maicon - Brazil - Inter
67 67 63 Diego Milito - Argentina - Inter
66 96 99: Sami Khedira - Germany - Real Madrid
65 54 108: Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo - Tottenham/Manchester City?
64 80 96 Diego - Brazil - Atletico Madrid/Wolfsburg?
63 49 184: Thiago Alcântara - Spain - Barcelona
62 57 48 Hernanes - Brazil - Lazio
61 48 33 Rafael Van der Vaart - Netherlands - Tottenham
60 100 Iker Muniain - Spain - Athletic Bilbao

59 59 80 Javier Pastore - Argentina - PSG
58 43 32 Lisandro Lopez - Argentina - Lyon
57 73 54 Arturo Vidal - Chile - Juventus
56 46 40 Marek Hamsik - Slovakia - Napoli
55 60 90 Marcelo - Brazil - Real Madrid
54 63 119: Mats Hummels - Germany - Dortmund
53 37 20 David Villa - Spain - Barcelona
52 68 101: Vincent Kompany - Belgium - Manchester City
51 42 52 Mario Gomez - Germany - Bayern München
50 90 173: Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Netherlands - Schalke 04

49 61 82 Sergio Ramos - Spain - Real Madrid
48 98: Thiago Silva - Brazil - Milan
47 45 86 Javier Mascherano - Argentina - Barcelona
46 41 68 Antonio Valencia - Ecuador - Manchester United
45 30 35 Thomas Müller - Germany - Bayern München
44 138 283: Robert Lewandowski - Poland - Dortmund
43 39 64 Alexis Sanchez - Chile - Barcelona
42 64 147: Toni Kroos - Germany - Bayern München
41 71 127: Shinji Kagawa - Japan - Dortmund/Manchester United
40 40 58 Daniele De Rossi - Italy - Roma

39 92 19 Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast - Chelsea/Shanghai Shenhua
38 47 57 Fernando Llorente - Spain - Athletic Bilbao
37 51 126: Marco Reus - Germany - Mönchengladbach/Dortmund
36 38 66 Neymar - Brazil - Santos
35 36 45 Sergio Busquets - Spain - Barcelona
34 24 56 Mario Götze - Germany - Dortmund
33 34 46 Gareth Bale - Wales - Tottenham
32 33 36 Dani Alves - Brazil - Barcelona
31 32 51 Juan Manuel Mata - Spain - Chelsea
30 27 29 Nani - Portugal - Manchester United

29 25 28 Angel Di Maria - Argentina - Real Madrid
28 23 8 Samuel Eto'o - Cameroun - Anzhi
27 35 53 Santi Cazorla - Spain - Malaga
26 22 6 Carlos Tevez - Argentina - Manchester City
25 16 9 Arjen Robben - Netherlands - Bayern München
24 18 11 Luis Suarez - Uruguay - Liverpool
23 31 25 Gonzalo Higuain - Argentina - Real Madrid
22 29 49: Radamel Falcao - Colombia - FC Porto
21 28 47 Karim Benzema - France - Real Madrid

20 21 16 Wesley Sneijder - Netherlands - Inter
19 26 30 Edinson Cavani - Uruguay - Napoli
18 17 15 Luka Modric - Croatia -Tottenham
17 19 22 Yaya Tore - Ivory Coast - Manchester City
16 15 18 Franck Ribery - France - Bayern München
15 13 31 Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany - Bayern München
14 12 10 Xabi Alonso - Spain - Real Madrid
13 14 43 Eden Hazard - Belgium - Lille/Chelsea
12 11 12 Sergio Aguero - Argentina - Manchester City
11 9 14 Mesut Özil - Germany - Real Madrid

10 10 34 Robin Van Persie - Netherlands - Arsenal
9 8 17 David Silva - Spain - Manchester City
8 20 61 Andrea Pirlo - Italy - Milan to Juventus
7 6 7 Cesc Fabregas - Spain - Barcelona
6 7 13 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden - Milan
5 5 5 Wayne Rooney - England - Manchester United
4 4 4 Andrés Iniesta - Spain - Barcelona
3 3 2 Xavi - Spain - Barcelona
2 2 3 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal - Real Madrid
1 1 1 Lionel Messi - Argentina - Barcelona

I usually will do a country and club count for the heck (and curiosity) of it and could very well do that again (maybe tomorrow) but if someone else just couldn't help themselves or resist doing it instead of me, they would certainly be very welcome!

Top 50

8 Barcelona
7 Real Madrid
4 Manchester United
4 Manchester City
4 Bayern Munich
3 Dortmund
2 Milan
2 Chelsea
2 Tottenham
1 Juventus
1 Arsenal
1 Napoli
1 Inter
1 Porto
1 Liverpool
1 Malaga
1 Anzhi
1 Santos
1 Athletic Bilbao
1 Shanghai Shenhua
1 Roma

Tie went to highest ranked player.

Okay, somehow I'm missing 2. Not sure what happened.

Superb read and a fantastic job done. must've taken a long time and alot of effort. thanks for doing this!

i disagree with a few rankings (i think robben should be quite alot higher for instance; imo he's clearly better than ribery), but overall the list is very, very good.

Awesome once again Bjorn.

Great read and thanks for doing it!

I love Rooney but he is not the 5th best player in the world. Probably more around 8-10

Lol that both these teams both have so many more top 50 players that they each have players in the top 50 who don't start. Barca even has two

For the record,it's not soccer it's FOOTBALL