Ronaldo, Messi, or Kylian Mbappé wondering who is the world’s best football player in 2024? As we are progressing towards the new year 2025, the race for the 2024 best football player in the world is about to end.
The debate over who is the best Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi has been going on for more than a decade. However, in the past few years, many prominent young stars have been emerging on the surface of the vast talent pool. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Rodri, and Harry Kane are a few talented names chanted by football pundits and fans all around the world. In this blog, we will dive deeper and rank the top 10 soccer players in the world in 2024.
Ranking Factors
Choosing one football player among so many megastars is an extremely hard job. But we did our best to find out who is the No.1 footballer in the world in 2024. To be the best footballer in the world, there are some qualities a player must possess.
- To evaluate the 2024 World Best Footballer we have focused on overall performance including goals and assists, records, achievements in 2024, and contribution to the team’s performance.
- To sum up the criteria world’s best footballers must have an impact on the team while leaving the evergreen mark for that year.
Best Football Players In The World Right Now
So here are our top 10 best picks for the best football player in 2024.
| Rank | Name | Nation | Club | Goals | Assist | Appearance |
| 10 | Mohamad Salah | Egypt | Liverpool | 12 | 10 | 19 |
| 9 | Kevin de Bruyne | Belgium | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 8 | Vinicius Jr. | Brazil | Real Madrid | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 7 | Jude Bellingham | England | Real Madrid | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 6 | Rodri | Spain | Manchester City | – | – | 3 |
| 5 | Harry Kane | England | Bayern München | 20 | 9 | 18 |
| 4 | Earling Haaland | Norweign | Manchester City | 17 | – | 18 |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappe | France | Real Madrid | 9 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Al Nassr | 40 | 7 | 49 |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Inter Miami | 29 | 18 | 36 |
10. Mohamad Salah | Liverpool
The Egyptian star Mohamed Salah is one of the best Premier League players of all time currently enjoying his time with Liverpool. The Liverpool Talisman Mohammad Salah has been unstoppable with 10 goals while providing four assists in the ongoing 2024 Premier League season.
Mohamed went through a muscle injury that stopped him from playing for the club earlier this year. However 32-year-old, Salah refused to sit on the side bench and continued to play for the club and country. Currently, Salah is right behind Haaland with 10 goals in the Premier League 2024. So far he has appeared in 19 matches scoring 12 goals and 10 assists.
9. Kevin de Bruyne | Manchester City
Belgian footballer Kevin de Bruyne is the Manchester City star and one of the top performers in the Premier League. Six-time Premier League winner Kevin has many extraordinary accomplishments including 2022 and 2023 Ballon d’Or.
De Bruyne’s excellent physical strength, shooting skills, passing technique, shooting and passing skills make him one of the best football players in the world. Earlier in this year Kevin suffered from a mysterious abdominal injury that sidelined him for nine weeks. For 2024, Kevin only scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 10 appearances.
8. Vinicius Jr. | Real Madrid
24-year-old Vinicious Jr. has been sitting at the top of Real Madrid since joining the club in 2018. Vini Jr. is one of the dynamic footballers whose unmatchable pace standouts him from all the other players. With his amazing speed, Vini Jr. adds up his skill of controlling the ball before the defenders notice that it’s too late.
In 2023, Vini won La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, and Supercopa de Espana with Real Madrid. The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee Vinicious Jr. has appeared in 18 games while scoring 12 goals and 7 assists.
7. Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid
English footballer Jude Bellingham is another Real Madrid star on our list of 10 best footballers in the world. Generational talent Jude Bellingham is a prolific midfielder whose accurate passing skills and onfield presence contributed to the club’s performance.
2023 Golden Boy winner Jude celebrated the three trophies: La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, and the Supercopa de Espana (Spanish Super Cup with Real Madrid. Bellingham has made 15 appearances, 2 goals, and 1 assist so far in 2024.
Also Read: Best FIFA Men’s Player 2024 nominees: Messi, Haaland, Vini Who Else?
6. Rodri | Manchester City
Spanish footballer Rodri is one of the best football players in the world who won the Ballon d’Or 2024. attacking midfielder of Manchester City Rodri defeated all the top footballers like Vinicius Jr, Halaand, Mbappe, and Odas and earned the Ballon d’Or award.
He also won the UEFA EURO 2024 Player of the Tournament after Spain smashed Germany. With Manchester City, Rodri went unbeaten for 74 games including club and country from March 2023 to May 2024. He suffered an ACL injury in May 2024. So far he has made an appearance in 3 games.
5. Harry Kane | Bayern Munich
English captain Harry Kane is next on our list of the world’s top footballers who is an ultimate goal machine. For the 2023/2024 season, Harry Kane went berserk and made 45 appearances and hit 44 goals with 13 assists.
Bayern München striker Kane shared the joint-top goalscorer of 2024 award with Kylian Mbappe at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris. No wonder, Harry Kane is the best striker in the world in 2024.
In 2024, Harry Kane made 18 appearances, 20 goals, and 9 assists.
4. Erling Haaland | Manchester City
On number fourth of best footballer in the world comes Earling Haaland who has been a shining star in the running Premier League 2024. The Manchester City goalscoring machine has hit 12 goals in 12 games which makes goal per game.
25-year-old Haaland is currently at the peak of super athleticism providing him a staggering pace on the field. Haaland is also nominated for the FIFA Best Men’s Player 2024 award. This season he scored 18 goals while appearing in 17 appearances.
3. Kylian Mbappe | Real Madrid
(Credits: Twitter/@Kylian)
French footballer Kylian Mbappé is one of the fastest footballers in the world. The Real Madrid stellar performer Mbappé has already established his name among the world’s top footballers. His shooting skills, while running and striking the ball with full power in unmatched.
Once mocked for the Ligue 1, Kylian Mbappe led his country and club on the global stage. France captain scored his first hat-trick of the year in January 2024 and became Coupe de France. He is also PSG’s all-time top scorer and France’s third-highest goal scorer. In the 2024 season, Kylianas appeared in 18 games and scored 9 goals, one assist.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr
The GOAT Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly the greatest football player of the 21st century. According to some football aficionados Ronaldo’s career is about to end with Al Nassr’s contract this year. Where many sports sites didn’t include Ronaldo in the top 10 due to his political boldness. Here we put aside all the off-field drama and let’s talk facts for real.
Despite Ronaldo’s twilight year of career, the 39-year-old footballer has broken many records this year. From World’s most goal scorer to the most capped football player Cristiano has become the greatest football player of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 40 goals for club and country in 2024, including three hat-tricks for Al-Nassr FC in the ongoing Saudi Pro League. Where last season of 2023/2024, CR7 scored 50 goals in 51 games across all competitions.
1. Lionel Messi | Inter Miami
Argentina star Lionel Messi is undoubtedly no.1 footballer in the world. Some may argue that it is time to dethrone Messi as the world’s best footballer. However, the best footballer must possess some qualities not only on a personal level but also on overall team performance.
Two-time Golden Boot winner Lionel Messi has played a crucial role in the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Argentina. Messi also has amazing gameplay in the 2023 World Cup with 6 goals and 3 assists in 9 matches. In 2023 Messi joined Inter Miami, a Major League Soccer (MLS) football club. Before Messi, Inter Miami was at the bottom of the MLS table. After Messi joined this underdog club, the table turned and the charm of the global star uplifted Inter Miami’s spirits. Under the leadership of Messi, won the 2024 Supporters’ Shield after a 3-2 win against Columbus Crew, Inter Miami won their first MLS trophy the 2024 Supporters’ Shield after beating Columbus Crew. So far Messi has scored 29 goals and 18 assists in 36 appearances.
FAQ’s
Q. Who won the Ballon d’Or 2024?
A. Rodri won the Ballon d’Or 2024 and emerged as one of the best players in the world 2024.
Q. Who is the World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Player in 2024?
A. According to the Forbes list, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid footballer in the world. Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabia’s club Al Nassr for a whopping amount of USD 285 million.
Q. Who is the best football player in the world in 2024?
A. Lionel Messi is the best football player in the world in 2024. Other honorable mentions are Kylian Kylian Mbappe, Ronaldo, and Earling Haaland.
Q. Who is the best striker of the 2024?
A. English striker Harry Kane is the best striker of 2024. So far, Kane has scored 20 goals and nine assists.
Q. Who is the most popular footballer?
A. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most popular footballer in the world with more than 1 billion followers on all social media platforms including Instagram (639M), Facebook (170.5M), X/Twitter (113M), and YouTube (60.5M)