Who is the best soccer player in the world? List of top footballers in 2022 and all-time | Sporting News (2024)

Fans will forever debate the best player in any sport, and soccer is no different.

With a rich history across the decades, fans who were lucky enough to watch various legends of the game at various stages will be partial to their contemporaries.

Yet, as is the natural beauty of debate, it is difficult to compare players at different positions across different eras of the sport's evolution. A player who put up incredible numbers decades ago could not be compared accurately to those playing the game today, and vice versa.

Thus, it is practically impossible to definitively name one greatest player, either of all-time or even just in the game today, but at least we can identify who should be in the discussion. The Sporting News brings you an overview to see who has a case to be made for best player both now in 2022 and across the entire history of the game.

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Who is the best soccer player in 2022?

There are many ways to determine who the best soccer player is at the current time.

Some would say that the Ballon d'Or award does that job for us, labeling the best player in the game at the current time. At this juncture, that isKarim Benzemaof Real Madrid, who won the 2021/22 award after leading Los Blancos to the La Liga and Champions League double.

Others would say that the highest-paid player is the best. That would beKylian Mbappewhose new PSG contract could see the French side shell out an eye-watering€630 million over the course of his new three-year contract he signed in the summer of 2022. Mbappe is thought to be the best young player in the game now, gracing the cover of the popular FIFA video game for the last two years.

Still more could argue that the player with the most goals scored would be the best player. That would makeCristiano Ronaldothe top player in the world, with his all-time record of more than 800 goals for club and country. Right behind him is his rivalLionel Messi,who also has collected far more assists than his Portuguese counterpart.Young strikerErling Haalandmay have something to say about that, however, as his incredible start to the Premier League season has seen him on pace to shatter the league's single-season goalscoring record.

However, that seems to discount those who play other positions, like 2018 Ballon d'Or winnerLuka Modric,whose midfield brilliance led Croatia to the last World Cup final, or 2022Yashin trophy winnerThibaut Courtois,whose goalkeeping heroics earned him Man of the Match in the 2022 Champions League final.

10 candidates for best male player in 2022

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Extrapolating these criteria to the women's game is also difficult to narrow down an answer.

The easy answer isAlexia Putellaswho has won two consecutive Ballon d'Or awards for carrying Barcelona and Spain to new heights with her creative brilliance and glittering technical skills. Meanwhile, AustralianSam Kerrwon Best International Women's Soccer Player at the 2019 and 2022 ESPYS, marking her as one of the top in her sport.

Still, others would fall back on greats of the game still in action, such as U.S. forwardAlex Morgan,whose nose for goal remains a critical component of the No. 1 ranked international side, orBrazilian superstarMarta,who holds the record for most goals scored in a FIFA World Cup across both genders.

Morgan's U.S. teammateMegan Rapinoewon the Golden Ball at the 2019 Women's World Cup, recognizing her as the best player at the tournament, and while her playing days seem numbered at this point in her career, she remains a popular figure as not only a top player in the game but an activist for women's rights off the field as well.

England's run to victory at Euro 2022 has positioned a number of the Lioness players at the top of the game, including theversatileBeth Mead,who won the competition's Player of the Tournament award, andLucy Bronze,who won the Silver Ball as the second-best player at the 2019 Women's World Cup behind Rapinoe.

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And then there's the next generation of young players, led by U.S. forwardCatarina Macario,who helped push Lyon to a surprise victory at the Women's Champions League final this past summer, and who hopes to come back from her subsequent ACL tear with a flourish.

10 candidates for best female player in 2022

The 2022 women’s Ballon d’Or complete ranking! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/QJLVZW6XjG

— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) October 17, 2022

Who is the best men's football player of all-time?

Expanding the list to all-time makes the job even more difficult.

As previously mentioned,Cristiano RonaldoandLionel Messiare still active in their careers and already sit as the top two goalscorers across club and country of all-time, cementing themselves among the greatest ever to play the game. Fans of the sport should consider themselves lucky to have had the chance to see two all-time greats go head-to-head throughout their modern careers.

Still, there are many that came before them. Two of the greatest forwards ever are from South America, as many debate the merits of Argentina'sDiego Maradonaagainst Brazil's legendaryPele, who both won the FIFA World Cup and brought glory to their nation, amongst many great club achievements. The man once thought to be Pele's successor in Brazil,Ronaldo Nazario, elevated himself amongst the all-time greats despite a series of knee injuries that served to cruelly cut short his career.

Nobody changed the game quite like Dutch legendJohan Cruyff, whose concept of Total Football both as a player and manager were unlike anything seen before, and his technical abilities were unmatched in the game, even having a skill move, the "Cruyff turn," named after him.

Many knowMichel Platinias the disgraced UEFA executive, but in his playing days many considered him the greatest two-way midfielder of all-time. Meanwhile, German defenderFranz Beckenbauerplayed a thankless position at center-back, yet won two Ballon d'Or awards. Iker Casillas never won a Ballon d'Or as the modern game shifted towards rewarding goalscoring over goalkeeping, but he won everything else a European footballer can achieve, including a World Cup, two European titles, and three Champions League crowns.

And finally,Alfredo Di Stefanois considered the architect of the striker position, having crafted the skill of goalscoring in the early days of the El Clasico rivalry. The Argentine-born Spain international won the second-ever Ballon d'Or and was so good that Pele called him the greatest striker of all-time.

10 candidates for best player of all-time