🏆 Ballon d'OneFootball: And in 20th place is ... | OneFootball

Welcome to the third annual edition of the Ballon d’OneFootball as we continue our countdown of the top 25 players in the world.

Click right here to see the full list so far.

And today we have …

20th: Marco Verratti, PSG and Italy

(New entry)

“Let me say I’m in love with Marco Verratti,” Pep Guardiola said after Manchester City lost to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this season. “He is an exceptional player. He is small, but you can always count on him.”

It is a wonder, watching Verratti, that he has never played under Guardiola.

He may be small but he more than makes up for that with his tenacity in defence, snapping at heels and never giving his opponents a moment to breathe. It’s little wonder he has racked up 10 yellow cards in Ligue 1 this season.

And if you think he’d be a nightmare to play against when you have the ball, wait until you see the Italian in possession.

Twisting and turning, probing and provoking, whether he decides to drive with the ball at his feet or find a team-mate further upfield, there is hardly any better player at getting the ball from A to B in midfield in the modern game.

“How he keeps the ball, how he drives, dribbles, this capacity to make things easier when, for another player, it is difficult. He is amazing in this way,” PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino said earlier this season.

And he’s right. Verratti is the team-mate players look for when under pressure, because they know the ball is safe at his feet. He’s the player they want on the ball when they’re struggling to get it from one end of the pitch to the other.

Combine Verratti without the ball and Verratti with the ball and you’re left with the perfect modern midfielder.

It’s little wonder that he missed the entire group stage yet came straight back into the Italy side halfway through their charge to conquering Europe in the summer: he encapsulates the new-look Italy.

The 29-year-old is, as Italian history dictates, stubborn and aggressive when defending. But he is also, as the modern game demands, even more comfortable in possession, being the man who takes opponents on, escapes pressure and makes the game happen.

A worthy European champion and a worthy 20th place in our list.

Click right here to see the full list so far.