Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were the two greatest footballers of a generation, the former earning the Greatest of All Time tag in many quarters after capping off an outrageous career with the World Cup, the ultimate prize.
Several rising megastars could justify throwing their names, their talents, their achievements into the conversation. Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé were seen by many as undisputed pretenders to the throne prior to the emergence of Jude Bellingham and the continued growth of several established names.
RadioTimes.com brings you our definitive list of the best football players in the world in 2025.
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There's no denying Messi has evolved. He has lost yards of his blistering pace but his intelligence and manipulation of the football means his control over the result of games remains as strong as ever. He is not an all-action terrier, he won't pitch in with the dirty work, but to count that against him is to miss the point entirely.
Messi's time at the top of our list is over due to the fact his presence in the growing, exuberant yet ultimately lower quality MLS will mask his decline. However, his displays for Argentina, against a high standard of opposition, remain top notch. Let's face it: he would still play and succeed in any club team in world football in his current guise.
9. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
His all-action, dynamic presence saw him transform from teenage wildcard to instant starter for England at the World Cup 2022 and he has never looked back. His displays for Dortmund put them firmly in title contention against the Bayern Munich juggernaut, spurned only by goal difference, before making the move to Real Madrid where he has added an abundance of goals to his arsenal.
He is the complete package in midfield already. Physically imposing, an immense ball carrier, with precision passing skills, Bellingham will continue to soar at his current trajectory, buoyed with enough confidence to claim Zinedine Zidane's No.5 shirt at the Bernabeu. Bellingham is a generational talent and is arguably *the* player to watch over the next few years.
8. Rodri (Man City)
A tall, strong, physical presence, Rodri has all the muscle City require in a combative midfielder, combined with the grace, skill and drive of an attacking midfielder capable of drifting high up the pitch.
Rodri was the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner for his influence on club and country. He has been sorely missed and his ranking remains protected until he returns, hopefully in full flight.
7. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
The 25-year-old has already racked up more than 400 professional appearances since he debut for Flamengo in 2017, and he is one of the few contenders who could, without a hint of delusion, claim to be sitting top of this list in several years time.
And yet, for all his demonstrable talent, he is often overlooked in discussions of the greatest players in the world. He has drifted in and out of the teams at times, but remains a lethal threat whenever he is given a chance to prove it.
6. Lamine Yamal
At the age of 18, Yamal has already racked up over 100 first-team appearances for Barcelona and more than 20 caps for Spain. Once again, he is 18. And he doesn't turn 19 until the 2025/26 season is over and done.
Yamal is a devastating right winger capable of cutting inside and driving at defenders with extreme speed. He has technique to match his rapid feet and loves to bend shots around defenders en route to goal, but his creative flair sets him apart. Yamal is tracking close to two goal contributions every three games and could sit top of this list by the end of next summer's World Cup.
5. Ousmane Dembele
Dembele struggled to emerge from the shadow of Lionel Messi at Barcelona and was reportedly subjected to more fines than any other player at the Nou Camp due to his training punctuality. He effectively replaced the departed Messi at PSG and again found himself veiled by Kylian Mbappe.
He netted 29 goals and recorded 12 assists in just 33 starts and 11 substitute appearances last term across Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
4. Erling Haaland (Man City)
The 25-year-old has continued to score approximately a goal per game in the best league in world football, and is firmly on course to hoist the Golden Boot once again – just a month into the campaign.
His physicality is unrivalled, his finishing ability – including improvised, instinctive finishing by any means necessary – is staggering and he boasts a turn of pace that few in the Premier League could match. The best bit? We're mostly likely yet to see Haaland at his absolute peak. The next few years should continue to be explosive and, if he proves his consistency over several years, he will sit No.1 in this list without rival.
3. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
The relative mystique of foreign leagues can often inflate a player's reputation as we are fed their many highlights and rarely see their 4/10s, the days they'd rather not remember, their misses, their failures. The Premier League, in all its hyper-exposed, tribal glory, is often not a place where rival fans can appreciate world class talent when they see it. When Kane moved to Germany and made such a mockery of the Bundesliga, everyone finally saw the plain truth.
Of course, when it comes to sheer numbers, Haaland is ripping up every record he can lay his hands on, but dare we suggest Haaland's all-around game is, by Kane's standards, almost... limited? The City star is a ruthless finisher and constant menace against the backline, but Kane offers similarly lethal goalscoring ability with the technical talents of a fully fledged playmaker to boot.
The England captain's finishing is exemplary, his positioning to accommodate for a lack of raw pace is second-to-none, though his unique selling point is his uncanny creative ability, to pick a pass from deep, to swing a cross in, to play the No.10 and No.9 roles simultaneously and effectively and he achieved all of that in a Tottenham team that, with the greatest respect, was simply not at his level and rarely has been near his standard. He is the greatest natural No.9 in world football right now.
2. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah's consistency remains remarkable with 31, 31, 30, 25, 34 goals in his last five seasons respectively across all competitions. He is rarely injured, rarely suspended and usually always available, proven by 51 appearances in each of the three campaigns prior to 2023/24 where he missed a month due to the Africa Cup of Nations, hence his marginally lower goal tally.
If he racks up another couple of 20+ goal seasons, he will hit the 200 Premier League goals mark, an unbelievable achievement for any player, let alone a winger who actually does play out wide.
Salah levelled Alan Shearer's record of 47 goal contributions in a single Premier League season last term. He is a generational talent, and a slow start to 2025/26 isn't enough to dislodge him from his perch. Yet.
1. Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
Like Neymar, like Messi, like many before, made a mockery of Ligue 1 but his form on the global stage for both club and country puts him out in front. His World Cup 2022 final hat-trick will go down as the stuff of legends – a big time performance from a big time player.
The 27-year-old is one of the fastest footballers we've ever seen grace the field, with shooting technique like no other. He can strike the ball on the run or with immense power from a dead standing start, he can finesse shots low into the corners or drill the ball high and rising into the roof of the net. If you offer him an inch of the goal, he will punish you, mercilessly.
Who is the best football player in the world?
Kylian Mbappe remains our best football player in the world 2025.
Do you agree with our list? Of course you don't! And that's totally fine, even though you are completely wrong.
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