Fans rank the 15 best footballers of 2023 | OneFootball

It's fair to say that 2023 has been a terrific year for football. Plenty of ups and downs have been enjoyed and endured since January - but that's what's so special about the sport we all know and love. It's unpredictable, it throws curveballs at us when we least expect it, it's ever-changing (for the better, we hope).

Stars such as Jude Bellingham have taken their game to unfathomable levels, while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to prove why they are two of the best to ever grace the turf. Thanks to a plethora of talent on display, it's almost impossible to name the top 15 footballers of the calendar year. So many twists and turns have happened, your club bias may get in the way - but, at the end of the day, it's important to remember that it's all subjective.

Over at Ranker, football fans from all corners of the globe are able to use their constantly updating system to rank all manner of things and, subsequently, form lists of almost everything there is to rank about the sport. But here at GIVEMESPORT, we are only interested in one facet today, and that’s the top 15 footballers of 2023. There are some notable omissions and some are, simply, staple choices – take a look at the full list below. What are you waiting for? Let's end 2023 with a bang.

1 Erling Haaland

Manchester City

Erling Haaland announced himself onto the Premier League scene in emphatic fashion. Scoring goals for fun he did, making a mockery of defences week-in week-out, all while guiding Pep Guardiola’s side to an iconic treble-winning season.

Born and raised in Leeds, the Norwegian adapted to life in the English top tier like it was second nature upon his £51 million arrival. And although he has not been as fruitful in his second campaign at the Etihad Stadium, he still has 24 goal involvements (19G, 5A) in 22 outings. Quite simply an outstanding goalscorer – one who was also ranked as the best player of 2023 by IFFHS.

2 Kylian Mbappé

Paris Saint-Germain

Enthusiastically praised by pundits and fans alike, Kylian Mbappé is, simply put, a global superstar poised to become a footballing great – that’s if he isn’t already. At just 25 years of age, the blistering Frenchman is performing at a level above the majority of footballers with ease.

Combining the perfect concoction of precise finishing, ferocious pace and technical ability is what Mbappé is about, and it’s practically impossible to stop him once he gets going. On the back of his fine form in the year of 2023, Real Madrid are set to re-invest their time in attempting to snare his signature. That’s the equivalent of game over, by the way – Los Blancos will be unstoppable.

3 Jude Bellingham

When was the last time you saw a player wander into the bright lights of the Santiago Bernabéu and make such an impact? We’ll wait. Already a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England set-up, Jude Bellingham has emerged as football’s hottest property.

The Birmingham-born phenom was brilliant for Borussia Dortmund at the front end of 2023 but he has turned his game up a notch since switching Germany for Spain, having notched 22 goal contributions – in the form of 17 goals and five assists – in 21 outings for the La Liga titans. Still not convinced? His transfer market value rose by a whopping €70 million, which was the most dramatic increase out of all footballers, according to Transfermarkt.

Fresh off the back of his 2022 World Cup triumph with Argentina, Lionel Messi would have entered 2023 on cloud nine. Beginning the year as a Paris Saint-Germain star, he’s ending it basking in the Miami sun for David Beckham-owned Inter Miami. Despite his change of scenery, this year was topped off by winning his eighth Ballon d’Or, which is a record no footballer may ever achieve.

Unquestionably one of the greatest footballers to grace the turf, the Rosario-born deity continues to showcase his unearthly talent on a weekly basis – his trophy-laced career is really the stuff of legend. With Luis Suarez set to join him in due course, 2024 could be even better - if that’s humanly possible. Then again, is Messi human?

A mesmerisingly good footballer with dainty feet, an eye for goal and speed to leave 99% of defenders in the dust. The world is the 22-year-old Brazilian’s oyster, and he has all the tools to become an all-timer, especially earning his corn at a club the magnitude of Real Madrid.

Perhaps he often gets typically overlooked thanks to the likes of Mbappé and Haaland becoming serial headline-grabbers – but there is no end to Vinícius Jr’s talent. He may have only scored four goals and racked up the sole assists in an injury-struck 2023/24 campaign, but it’s the intangibles of his game that make him so effortlessly brilliant.

Manchester City

The Premier League’s highest earner this season had to be somewhere on the list, right? The talismanic midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, is the creative driving force behind Guardiola’s side and is often likened to a magician thanks to his genius IQ and quick-thinking.

In his pomp at 32 years old, the attacking midfielder was a vital cog in a City side that won a plethora of silverware in 2023: the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup. By no coincidence, his time spent on the wrong side of the white line, Manchester City are not as fruitful as they are with him slotted behind Haaland – shock horror! Before his injury, the pale-faced orchestrator was up to his usual exploits.

A collective sigh of worry was let off around north London as perennial goalscorer Harry Kane upped and left for Bayern Munich in the summer. Who was going to replace his reliable source of goals? While not producing at the same level, Heung-min Son has somewhat stepped up in the absence of the Englishman.

Before Kane departed, the two enjoyed a ferocious partnership that rivaled some of the Premier League’s greatest and, despite Kane’s unprecedented tally of goals, the South Korea international had a massive part to play. A great finisher himself, Son is still, in the minds of some, truly underappreciated.

We daren’t tell Cristiano Ronaldo that he’s seventh given how much of a perfectionist he is. Not only that but on the back of him leading the goalscoring charts for the year, his ranking does seem a bit unfair.

Regardless, the Portuguese talisman has been firing at his usual standards ever since trailblazing the Saudi Pro League revolution as he joined Al-Nassr at the back end of 2022. While many believed that his exploits, mainly of the goalscoring kind, would dry out as he approaches the ripe age of 40, the former Manchester United man is proving that age is just a number.

9 Harry Kane

Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich

Given he recorded an emphatic 30-goal season for Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps Kane is too low in this fan-inspired ranking. Especially given he has enjoyed a record-breaking stint, despite it being in its early embers, at Bayern Munich, the 30-year-old marksman may feel hard done by.

Bavaria chief Thomas Tuchel made the Englishman his marquee signing of the 2023 summer transfer window and has reaped the full benefits of his free-scoring repertoire with Kane registering 25 goals and an additional eight assists in his first 22 games for his new employers. Could he make next year even more special by spearheading England to a Euro 2024 triumph?

10 Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

Liverpool may not have enjoyed a fruitful campaign last time out, but the high standards of one particular player remained high. You guessed it, it was Mohamed Salah. In 2023, the Egyptian etched his name into the top 10 Premier League’s all-time top goalscorers - so it’s safe to say that it’s been a memorable one.

Salah’s been a centrepiece of the Reds’ success in yesteryear and is Jürgen Klopp’s most reliable performer – and in 2023/24, that is no different. The former Chelsea prospect, 31, has 19 goal contributions – in the form of 12 goals and seven assists – in the same number of Premier League outings this season. Obscene.

11 Luka Modrić

Real Madrid​​​​​​

Nothing will ever top Luka Modrić’s 2018 Ballon d’Or-winning year. But the beauty of the 172-cap Croatia international is that he ages like fine wine and that every year since 2018, he has been out-of-this-world good.

Despite enjoying a year including a UEFA Super Cup win, a FIFA Club World Cup win and a Spanish Cup win, it looks as if Modric’s knack of winning silverware with Los Blancos may finally be over, given he’s been told that a new contract will not be offered to him. Approaching the end of a very endearing era, with Madrid and Modric going hand-in-hand, Modric has been a great midfield servant for them and will go down as a bonafide legend of the club.

Being challenged to take over from Luis Suarez, despite it being two years after the Uruguayan’s exit, is a tough ask. Robert Lewandowski’s years of leading the line superbly for Bayern Munich and being a mainstay for his native Poland set him up perfectly, however.

Since moving to Spain, the Pole has been doing what he does best: scoring goals. Quite emphatically, too, given that his 23-goal campaign in 2022/23 was enough to fire Blaugrana to domestic gold. Despite his market value plummeting by €25 million, largely thanks to his age, Lewandowski has showed little signs of slowing down and has impressed since the current season kicked off.

13 Neymar

Neymar, the all-time Brazilian great and one of the most aesthetically pleasing footballers on the planet. Labelled as one of the greatest players to never win the Ballon d’Or, his bucketload of talent has seen his score and assist an unfathomable number of times over the years for the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

For a change of scenery or to boost his already-stacked bank balance (we’ll never know), he opted for the Saudi Pro League to be his latest venture but is currently out of action nursing an ACL injury. Now aged 31, whether he’ll return as the same twinkle-toe’d sensation remains to be seen.

14 Karim Benzema

Real Madrid, Al-Ittihad

He may be approaching the tail end of his illustrious career, as highlighted by his move to Al-Ittihad, but there should be little to no doubt in every football fan’s mind that Karim Benzema is still one of the best centre forwards on the planet. No questions asked.

The Frenchman enjoyed a glittering, 14-year career with Real Madrid before exploring pastures new on a different continent, though life in Saudi Arabia is not exactly what he had dreamed of, with him being called the ‘Son of Defeat’ by his own faithful. That’s despite the bagsman scoring 12 goals and notching a further five assists since his arrival.

15 Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool

Widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, Virgil van Dijk – included in Opta’s top flight Team of the Season so far – was whiskers away from picking up the 2019 Ballon d’Or gong, while he was at the peak of his powers.

Admittedly no longer displaying the same athleticism and poise, the Dutchman’s added responsibility has seen an upturn in his performances since the new campaign got underway. Under Klopp’s watchful eye this season, Van Dijk is gradually reaching his prior levels and should Liverpool win their first Premier League title since 2019/20, he’ll be an integral piece of the puzzle.