At 22 years of age, he's is on the good side of the age cut-off which is under-24 now, following the postponement of the Olympics from summer For the first, he drifted inside from the right flank and opened St Etienne up with a stunning reverse pass for Mbappe. The Best FIFA Men's Player: Thiago Alcantara (Spain/Bayern Munich and Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Neymar (Brazil/PSG), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), The Best FIFA Women's Player: Lucy Bronze (England/Lyon and Manchester City), Delphine Cascarino (France/Lyon), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway/Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg and Chelsea), Jennifer Hermoso (Spain/Barcelona), Ji So-yun (South Korea/Chelsea), Sam Kerr (Australia/Chelsea), Saki Kumagai (Japan/Lyon), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Should Man City prioritise signing Haaland over Messi? PSG now claims three of the worlds five highest-paid players, including the 29-year-old Neymar, who lands at No. There is, however, no place for Neymar, who finished third in last year's voting, after an injury-hit season with PSG and difficult World Cupthat saw Brazil knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Belgium. The top three finalists in each category will be announced on Dec. 11. However others have maintained their blue tick stature, at least for the time being -- though not necessarily paying for it themselves. How Ronaldo made it in Manchester, became a Madrid and Juve goal machine, Lionel Messi's evolution as a player: From Ronaldinho's Barcelona understudy to GOAT candidate. And it seems Los Blancos don't want any imposters trying to claim they play for them -- because they are paying that $50-a-month fee for every player to keep their blue ticks -- as shown by Karim Benzema's account. Arsenal's free-scoring Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema also made the shortlist along with Sam Kerr who won the FA Women's Super League last season with Chelsea. And yep, that means all their star players are now sans tick. For Neville, though, Haaland's character is as significant as his ability when it comes to his hopes of achieving greatness. Madrid bounce back after Girona shock as Benzema rewrites record books, As 15-year-old Lamine Yamal makes history, Barcelona get back on track over hapless Betis, Pulisic, Maguire, Van de Beek among players who need a new club this summer, How to fix Europe's heavyweights, from Chelsea and Liverpool to PSG, Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only), ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more, Goal of the Year! Zinedine Zidane, who is not someone you recognise for lots of goals, more great goals. So, to try and settle this one and for all, the team over at FourFourTwo have ranked the 100 best players from the 21st century. Neville knows that as well as anyone having watched him dismantle his Valencia side with Barcelona during his time as the La Liga outfit's head coach. "There's that many star players there desperate to be the main man and possibly one who is about to take that mantle in Mbappe.". Antoine Griezmann - 70 (13% of games), 6. There have been five in six games in the Champions League, but only two in 17 in Ligue 1. Wiegman was recently appointed England women's new coach and will replace Phil Neville in September 2021. He's been a great player, he continues to perform at a high level, and he probably would have won the Ballon d'Or in 2020 had it not been postponed for Covid. FIFA have announced the nominees for the 2020 The Best Awards with Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Mo Salah, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar and Kylian (1:51). This led Twitter's under-fire CEO to reveal this week that he would be fitting James' bill personally to keep the basketball legend on the site, along with veteran actor William Shatner and author Stephen King. A former Manchester United striker, who played with Cristiano Ronaldo at two clubs, believes FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has all the talents that the Not an everyday trio of celebrities you would put together. Brentford player ratings (4-3-3) GK: David Raya - 5/10 - Barely troubled for the most part. "But I think the season Salah is having, and the numbers he's got compared to anyone else in the Premier League, which is the best league in the world right now, just shows how far ahead of everybody else in the Premier League he is. Five victories in the group stage and a draw against Real Madrid saw PSG progress to the final 16. Shaka Hislop explains why Manchester City have the edge over Real Madrid in the Champions League. If theres one thing football fans love in this world, its a debate. The most prominent example is NBA superstar LeBron James, who previously greeted news of an imminent subscription fee by announcing to his 52 million followers that he had zero intention of stumping up $8 every month to keep his tick. Nevertheless, the 36-year-old still trails Conor McGregor (116m million), Roger Federer (66m), LeBron James (48m) and Tiger Woods (44m) in overall off-field earnings. According to Forbes, the Manchester United star earns approximately 91million-a-year ($125m) before taxes, with 50m of that through his wages and around 40m in sponsorship deals. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all feature in list of players with the most Man-of-the-Match awards since 2009. While everybody from Bill Gates to Kim Kardashian to the pope had their ticks taken away as part of the sitewide cull, a slightly odd turn of events saw three celebrities -- all of whom had been vocal in their criticism of the Twitter Blue scheme -- get their subscriptions paid for by Musk himself. Ronaldo and Messi were drawn to face off in the Champions League group stage this season when Juventus were drawn against Barcelona in Group G. Ronaldo missed the opening game at Camp Nou on Oct. 28, a 2-0 win for Barca, after testing positive for COVID-19. 50, Klopp says referee has agenda against Liverpool, Haaland equals PL goal record as Man City go top, Man United beat Villa to bolster top-4 bid, Napoli's title party on hold after late equaliser, Bayern win to overtake Dortmund atop Bundesliga, Wilson double puts Newcastle on brink of Champions League, Spain FA chief: Messi return would be 'welcomed', IWL 2023: News, Schedule, Scores, Results, Points table, Man United in pole position for top four, but can't take their eyes off Liverpool, The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, Moment of the Weekend: Golazo from the muchacho - Alvarez's screamer has City dreaming again, Haaland first to 50, Benzema hat-trick takes him fourth, Ronaldo ends drought: Stats, Bayern back in charge, Yamal makes history, Napoli's party spoiled: Weekend Review, Liverpool rescue three points, chase top-four finish after surviving epic Spurs comeback, Man United end Villa's run, take step towards top-four finish against backdrop of fan protests, Madrid bounce back after Girona shock as Benzema rewrites record books, As 15-year-old Lamine Yamal makes history, Barcelona get back on track over hapless Betis, AFC Cup playoff: Diego Mauricio hat-trick powers Odisha into Asia after 3-1 win over Gokulam Kerala, LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United, PSG to battle for Abraham. Well, the numbers suggest so, with just four players in the top 20. Arsenal's free-scoring Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema also made the shortlist along with Sam Kerr who won the FA Women's Super League last season with Chelsea. But who has received the most Man-of-the-Match trophies over the past 13 years? Neville, though, feels he's not at the level required to be considered the world's best. The final ten will also likely cause a stir, particularly amongst the Team Messi and Team Ronaldo fans. Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane also made the cut. Manchester United ace Paul Pogba is seventh on 24m-a-year, while Real Madrids Gareth Bale is the highest-ranked British player in ninth with expected earnings of 23m. Al hamdulillah pic.twitter.com/g8CJTq3XtX. Many of Mahrez's City teammates suffered the same fate with the likes of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne losing their ticks in one fell swoop. Zinedine Zidane is keen on a return to football management this summer but is fully aware his next role will not be at Real Madrid. "He's predominantly a goalscorer but the timing for him is just a little bit out of sync. "They have done it for 15 seasons consistently, it is off the scale, ridiculous.". To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, .css-1diosym{color:black;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-1diosym{color:#fff;}}Published18:09,14 March 2023 GMT.css-7su1ft{color:#666666;}@media (prefers-color-scheme:dark){.css-7su1ft{color:#72B97D;}}@media (min-width:1024px){.css-7su1ft{color:#666666;}}| Last updated18:14,14 March 2023 GMT. Scorers: Sync Arsenal suffer extra-time loss as Wolfsburg reach Womens Champions League final. FIFA Best: Messi vs. Ronaldo rivalry resumes as Mbappe, Salah, Neymar, Mane join stars in line for top award - ESPN Application error: a client-side exception has As one of football's most active Twitter users, former England striker Gary Lineker, confirmed that he would be maintaining his Twitter Blue account but only in order to preserve access to the "Edit Tweet" function that comes with the service. "When I was a lot younger, it wasn't so much about numbers, it was more about the play. Find out the results! Naturally, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are ranked No.1 and No.2 respectively, with the Al Nassr superstar beating the Paris Saint-Germain man to top spot, according to Foot Goal. However, the striker can still lay claim to being the best player if he picks up the FIFA award, which will be presented at a ceremony on Dec. 17. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick, who took charge of Bayern in November last year, is nominated for the best men's coach along with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa, Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid and Sevilla's Europa League-winning coach Julen Lopetegui. Lewandowski was a firm favourite for the Ballon d'Or award before it was scrapped this year for the first time in its 64-year history because of the coronavirus. This is what went down. In fact, he has been given the Man-of-the-Match award in over half the games he's played since 2009, which is just bonkers. So Messi has been given the most Man-of-the-Match awards in world football since 2009 - and it's not even close. However, the striker can still lay claim to being the best player if he picks up the FIFA award, which will be presented at a ceremony on Dec. 17. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. - Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all feature in list of players with the most Man-of-the-Match awards since 2009. "At times earlier in the season, Salah was at a level that was the best in the world, and he still could be," he says. Over the years I've thoroughly enjoyed connecting with you all on Twitter. "I think he's done well," says Carragher. We are calm, said Leonardo. Leicester City and Everton faced off in the weekends final Premier League fixture on Monday. Kylian Mbappe has a total of 0 blocks, 16 aerial duels and a total number of 0 tackles. "What we mustn't underestimate with Ronaldo and Messi is their resilience, their consistency, the standards season in, season out, the number of games they have played, their toughness, mentally and physically, to withstand all the kickings they will have taken and the criticism they will have had, the pressure and scrutiny that is on them. That means there's NO Premier League star in the top ten, with Casemiro the highest-ranked player who plies his trade in England's top flight. Are we in store for a four-way sprint for that final Champions League spot? Mbappe may well be the most amazing prospect to emerge since the Brazilian Ronaldo in the 1990s. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi resume their rivalry after being named on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player award, world football's governing body announced on Wednesday. He adds: "In terms of excitement, thrill, speed, Mbappe is absolutely sensational. "I like the fact he doesn't care what anyone thinks. Son Heung-min vs. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Mohamed Salah As far as footballers are concerned, it doesn't appear that Musk has been willing to pay for any players to maintain their status, though a few significant names have obviously signed up to the service in order to protect their verified accounts. "Unfortunately, that's the way it is for these guys who have dominated for so long. Lewandowski missed out to Messi in the Ballon d'Or voting last year. They are not so flush as to pay for a gold tick for their official English, Arabic, French, Japanese or Portuguese Twitter feeds. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window). Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, the Premier League's player of the year last season, also made the shortlist as did Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. The Champions League, and another World Cup, would be the crowning glory for Mbappe to succeed Ronaldo and Messi.". Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah are among the nominees for The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year award for 2018. Bayern Munich's treble-winning Robert Lewandowski will battle it out with Juventus star Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi after finishing as top goal scorer in the Champions League and Bundesliga last season. "It just felt fitting that he would play his whole career for one club so I'm sad that didn't happen in the end. That means Real Madrid are paying Twitter an incredible $1,000-a-month (plus tax) to be, well, the real deal. "I think the toss-up for me would be between Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe," he says. Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of 1. "I wasn't convinced it was a great signing for Manchester United, or that it was going to take them any closer to the title or any big trophies, and I would be surprised if he's there next season, I really would. - Goal of the Year! Goal.com partnering with The Sporting News to bring you the latest football news, transfer updates and analysis. "There is no doubt Salah is world-class, but Mbappe has got something different, that edge, something that is that good, it could make him one of the true greats. It was never normally a goalscorer who was the best player in the world, it was normally a playmaker. "But for him as an individual, or anyone, to still be playing for one of the world's biggest clubs at 37 is an achievement in itself.". Please feel free to discuss with us the comment box is below. Lionel Messi returns to Spain on Wednesday when Paris Saint-Germain face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, the scene of some of the most iconic performances of his incredible career before he swapped Barcelona for Paris. "What Ronaldo and Messi have achieved is out of this world, the numbers have been unrelenting, obscene.". "With Mbappe, we see that the French league is a level down, but what he's done in the Champions League, his performance against Real Madrid in the first leg, just tells you how special this guy is. "Neymar will be remembered as one of the greats," Neville says. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Gerard Pique; 23. Salah and [Sadio] Mane are now doing that at Liverpool, [Raheem] Sterling at Manchester City - they are scoring a load of goals from the wide striker position, and that is all because Ronaldo and Messi have set that expectation at that level. Son, Suarez, WSL stars up for FIFA Puskas Award. - Play responsibly | 18+ Only | https://t.co/TPg8xsbpGs@blazecom pic.twitter.com/47O5SlqbhM. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 116 (26% of games), 2. Lewandowski was a firm favourite for the Ballon d'Or award before it was scrapped this year for the first time in its 64-year history because of the coronavirus. He joined the company as an Academy member in July 2017 and, after a short time working as a freelancer, was given a full-time role in February 2018. PL relegation fight: What are the remaining games? Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi resume their rivalry after being named on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player award, world football's governing body announced on Wednesday. This portion also features a strong Chelsea contingency, with four of the 15 names featured having played for the London outfit. Barcelona icon Messi was the Brazilian's first pick, with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Real Madrid's Eden Hazard and Paris Saint-Germain pair Neymar and Kylian Mbappe also making the cut. 1. While Lionel Messi doesn't have a personal Twitter account, his official "Team Messi" profile has also seen the tick removed. Chelsea forward Mason Mount went one step further by quitting Twitter entirely on Thursday in reaction to the changes being made to the platform by Musk. Son, Suarez, WSL stars up for FIFA Puskas Award. Across the last three seasons, he has scored 103 goals in Bundesliga games alone. Kylian Mbappe; Erling Haaland; Neymar; Mohamed Salah; Kevin De Bruyne; After some good play from Gedeon Kalulu and Romain Faivre on the right "I think of Michel Platini when I was a youngster. Only time will tell whether others start to follow suit. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar left unverified on Twitter Blue, but Real Madrid pay up for players play Why Man City are favorites vs. Real Madrid in UCL semis (1:33) Lyon's Jean-Luc Vasseur is nominated for the best women's coach along with Chelsea's Emma Hayes and last year's runner-up Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands. He comes in at 11 ahead of Paul Pogba and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. Wiegman was recently appointed England women's new coach and will replace Phil Neville in September 2021. News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. "We want professional, well-behaved people, but we also want personality and character and people who are willing to go against the norm, that is what Haaland does.". Ronaldo, a former Real Madrid and Barcelona striker, had spoken Mbappe in the past when he urged his Real to make a move for 23-year-old over his PSG teammate, Neymar. Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other ESPN editions, click above. WebJunior Neymar has a total of 1 blocks, 2 aerial duels and a total number of 1 tackles. For the second, he set up the same player after dancing through a crowd of green-shirted defenders on the edge of the box. Fernando Gago Played with Ronaldo for three years at Real Madrid as well as Messi for the Argentina national team. James is a Senior Writer for GiveMeSport with over five-and-a-half years of experience in the industry. Pop Foot have looked through the data and named the 20 players to have been given the most Man-of-the-Match trophies since 2009. Wiegman was recently appointed England women's new coach and will replace Phil Neville in September 2021. Real Madrid and Belgium forward Eden Hazard completes the top ten on around 21m-a-year. PSG wants to play the round of Bayern Munich's treble-winning Robert Lewandowski will battle it out with Juventus star Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi after finishing as top goal scorer in the Champions League and Bundesliga last season. Cristiano 5. Fans will also be allowed to make their vote count with public voting on FIFA's website open until Dec. 9. Messi, who left boyhood club Barcelona for PSG this summer, earns around 81m-ayear through his wages and sponsorships a decrease on last year due to the wage cut he has taken at his new club. "In terms of speed of play, talent, skill, agility, intelligence, link-up play - I've never seen forward play as creative and skilful as I witnessed that day in my life. Julien Laurens debates whether Erling Haaland would be a better signing than Lionel Messi. Neymar; 24. But his brilliance remains aged 30. Lewandowski was a firm favourite for the Ballon d'Or award before it was scrapped this year for the first time in its 64-year history because of the coronavirus. They can pay another $50-a-month for every individual they want to keep their blue tick. I think he's a top player. The next 20 names also make for some rather interesting reading, with 11 of the players ranked, such as Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane, still plying their trade in the Premier League at the moment. Bayern Munich's treble-winning Robert Lewandowski will battle it out with Juventus star Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi after finishing as top goal scorer in the Champions League and Bundesliga last season. Sprint beef, Ferrari respite & reignited title fight | What we learnt in Baku, Selby makes historic 147 in World Snooker Championship final, NFL star Watt and wife Kealia invest in Burnley | 'Wrexham success the model'. Who was your country's GOAT? The list is going to cause some controversy, and ironically, probably even more debate, so lets jump right into it and not waste any more of your time. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville adds: "For the first time in years, if you asked people which player in the world they would sign if they could only pick one, no one would say Messi or Ronaldo, they would likely say Mbappe, Haaland, Salah, Lewandowski. "The wide striker can now be a 30, 40 goals a season machine. Steven Gerrard; 20. He missed out by virtue of the award being cancelled in the pandemic-hit year before that. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 116 (26% of games) 2. As its counted as per the votes by players and coaches, its always interesting to One advantage Mbappe has over Salah is his age. (1:51). - Goal of the Year! Deary me, the bar is low for this one. Neymar; 24. Now 35 and 37 respectively, they continue to play at the highest level with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. As you may well have heard, thousands of A-list celebrities, sportspeople and other notable figures have been forced to surrender their Twitter verified status this week after the "blue tick" mark was removed -- unless it's paid for. Arsenal's free-scoring Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema also made the shortlist along with Sam Kerr who won the FA Women's Super League last season with Chelsea. "But if you said to me I could sign one player for Manchester United tomorrow, I would still probably go for Mbappe or Haaland over Salah. Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane also made the cut. Son, Suarez, WSL stars up for FIFA Puskas Award. The next 15 names, ranked from 26th to 40th also feature some incredible talents, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Sergio Aguero and Gareth Bale. Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo replaces PSGs Lionel Messi as highest-paid footballer in Forbes list with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and It is also a chance for Neymar. But, at 34, a player who dominated the sport for well over a decade together with Cristiano Ronaldo returns to the Spanish capital having only scored seven times in 24 games for PSG this season. Destiny is #mancity pic.twitter.com/7yQuzq9muR. "It was always going to be a lot more difficult," says Carragher. Fans will also be allowed to make their vote count with public voting on FIFA's website open until Dec. 9. Carra: A toss-up between Salah and Mbappe Mohamed Salah is the Premier League's top scorer with 19 goals this season Mbappe is enjoying a spectacular season "To get to those levels, Mbappe is going to have to win three or four Champions Leagues, he's got to score 30 to 40 goals a season for a decade, and he's probably got to go and do it in a country other than France. "I think the new generation is ready to take that mantle on.". "It must have been a wrench leaving Barcelona. "I think it's going to be very difficult for anybody to dominate in the way Messi and Ronaldo have done for so long. They meet again on Dec. 8. "It's not a Liverpool thing, I think Salah is absolutely amazing, but I just think Mbappe has got the ability to be out-of-this-world special. Due to your consent preferences, youre not able to view this. And Casemiro only joined the Old Trafford club last summer, having made his name in Spain. Also, such as been the dominance of Spanish football over the last 21 years, that only one of the players in the top ten (Manuel Neuer) didnt play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona. It's all about numbers. Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Salah: The top 100 players of the 21st century ranked | OneFootball six out of the 20 players ranked from 81 to 100 either currently play for Man United, or have played for Man United in the past, just going to show the dominance of the Red Devils since 2000.