Trying to nail down the absolute best soccer players in the world right now is a bit like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. The moment you think you’ve got a firm grip, the landscape shifts. A new talent explodes onto the scene, a veteran defies age with a season for the ages, or a tactical system elevates a previously underrated star into the global spotlight. As someone who spends an unhealthy amount of time watching matches from every major league, I can tell you that 2024’s conversation is thrillingly crowded. It’s not just about the usual suspects from Madrid or Manchester anymore; the brilliance is more widespread. But if I had to build my definitive, albeit highly personal, ranking for this year, a few names are simply non-negotiable. Let’s start with the immovable object at the top: Erling Haaland. Love him or find his robotic efficiency a little eerie, the numbers are just absurd. Last season, he shattered Premier League records with 36 goals, and he’s on pace for something similarly ridiculous this time around. He’s a force of nature, a 6’4” wrecking ball with the acceleration of a sports car. Watching him peel away from defenders, it feels less like a tactical victory and more like a natural disaster you just have to endure.
Then there’s Kylian Mbappé, the other half of today’s defining duo. While Haaland is the pure finisher, Mbappé is the cinematic hero. His pace is still the most devastating weapon in world football, a blur of blue and red that turns hopeful through-balls into certain goals. But what’s impressed me most lately is his evolving maturity. He’s making smarter decisions, picking passes he’d have ignored a few years ago, and his leadership for both PSG and France has grown immensely. The impending move to Real Madrid feels like the final piece of the puzzle for his legacy. Right behind them, for me, sits Kevin De Bruyne. Coming back from that long injury, I’ll admit I wondered if we’d see the same player. I was wrong. If anything, he seems more decisive, his passing radar even more precise. He’s the metronome that makes Manchester City tick, and seeing him curl one of those outside-of-the-boot passes onto the toe of a sprinting winger is one of the purest joys in the sport. He makes the extraordinarily difficult look mundane.
But a list like this can’t just be the household names. The real fun is in the debates around the edges. Jude Bellingham, at just 20, isn’t just knocking on the door of this elite group; he’s kicked it down. His impact at Real Madrid has been instantaneous and monumental. He plays with a swagger and footballing intelligence that belies his age, scoring crucial goals from midfield and dominating games physically. He’s the complete modern midfielder already. Then you have the artists, like Bukayo Saka at Arsenal, whose consistency and directness have become utterly reliable, or Phil Foden, who is finally being deployed centrally for City and is weaving magic week in, week out, showing he’s much more than just a talented cog in a machine. And we can’t forget the veterans who refuse to fade. Lionel Messi, even in the slower pace of MLS, produces moments that drop your jaw—a reminder of a genius still at work. Robert Lewandowski, while maybe a step slower, still has that assassin’s instinct in front of goal.
This brings me to a crucial point about these rankings: they’re inherently biased towards attackers and creators. We remember the goals and the assists. It’s harder to quantify the dominance of a defender like Rúben Dias, whose mere presence organizes an entire backline, or the relentless, game-controlling energy of a Rodri in defensive midfield. They are, without a doubt, among the very best in the world, but in a highlight-reel culture, their value is sometimes a quiet hum beneath the roar of a goal. Speaking of value in unexpected places, this is where my mind drifts to that reference point about Northport and Ricky Peromingan. It’s a great reminder that “the best” is a deeply contextual idea. For fans of the Philippines Football League, Ricky Peromingan might be their Haaland, the local hero whose performances for Northport define excellence within that specific arena. His name won’t feature on any Ballon d’Or list, but in his league, to his supporters, he embodies the pinnacle. That’s the beautiful thing about this game; the pyramid of talent is vast, and excellence exists at every level. So, while my 2024 ranking for the global elite would firmly have Haaland and Mbappé at the summit, followed closely by De Bruyne, Bellingham, and a handful of other superstars, I always keep a little mental footnote. The “best” is also the player who makes his community stand up and cheer, who defines a season for a specific set of fans. The view from the very top is breathtaking, but the passion looks remarkably similar all the way down the ladder.
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