Top Ranked Footballers Worldwide for the 2023/24 Season

International breaks are never enjoyable, are they?

Particularly if, like me, you're a Republic of Ireland fan and will spend the weekend watching League One players try to compete with top-flight footballers.

Despite that, international breaks at least give us some time to reflect and evaluate how things are going for footballers and players worldwide.

That's exactly what we're using the international break to do. Here's 90min's rankings of the best and most in-form footballers in the world during the first few months of the 2023/24 season.

No Premier League bias here at 90min, folks. We're starting off this list with a 35-year-old forward playing for Fluminense (the team with the best kits in Brazil). And while having a 35-year-old forward from Fluminense on a top 20 players in the world right now list may seem odd, the fact is that no player in the world has scored as many crucial goals as German Cano has this season. His six goals, including three in the semi-finals, have essentially carried his team to the Copa Libertadores final recently.

Possibly the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history; certainly the greatest goalkeeper in the world right now. Alisson Becker has been in exceptional form during his time at Liverpool - he even scored a goal during that time - but recently it seems like he's taken his game to new heights. And while that might be hard to believe, check out the highlights of the Tottenham - Liverpool game (if you haven't seen it).

After a somewhat shaky start to their 2023/24 campaign, Newcastle United have really hit their stride recently, thanks in large part to the outstanding performances of Bruno Guimaraes. He's been so impressive, in fact, that Newcastle recently rewarded him with a new lucrative five-year deal.

The former Robin is now the Batman at Tottenham Hotspur, and it's safe to say that he's excelling in his new role. Son Heung-min's six goals in seven Premier League appearances, including a brace in the north London derby, have propelled his team to the top of the Premier League heading into the international break. Well done.

There are not many defenders in the next 15 years who will hold Erling Haaland to zero shots in a game. William Saliba did just that in a recent Arsenal victory over Manchester City. Following a breakout season in 2022/23, Saliba has continued to impress in the early months of the current campaign. He is truly exceptional.

Speaking of exceptional footballers, here's Lionel Messi: the greatest of all time. Number 15 might seem low for Messi - probably the lowest he's ever been on a list - but he has been injured since mid-September and missed four Inter Miami games during that time, so it's hard to rank him higher on this list.

Leroy Sane has always been a very good footballer, but this season is the first time he has looked truly world-class. The partnership he has quickly developed with Harry Kane has led to his best goal-scoring form of his career - already netting seven times in all competitions.

Signed for a hefty £105m from West Ham, expectations were high for Declan Rice upon his move to Arsenal. So far, he has more than lived up to those lofty expectations. His top performances have come when the Gunners have needed him the most: in wins over Man City and Man Utd.

Thanks to Xabi Alonso being an outstanding manager, Victor Boniface has appeared unstoppable in the early weeks of the season at Bayer Leverkusen. Signed for just £17m, the striker has already proven his worth by scoring seven goals, providing two assists, and helping Leverkusen climb to the top of the Bundesliga table.

The Premier League signing of the summer? Absolutely. James Maddison has quickly become the primary creative force in an exciting Tottenham team, already securing five assists.

No matter where he goes, Cristiano Ronaldo will always find the back of the net. In his 22nd season as a professional footballer, Ronaldo has already scored an impressive 17 goals in 17 games for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. He remains one of the most lethal finishers in the game.

Nearly every top European club has scouted Santiago Gimenez this season, and it's likely they've been impressed with what they've seen. Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Inter, Juventus, Milan, and Napoli all witnessed the striker score a hat-trick and provide an assist in a memorable Feyenoord victory over Ajax. Those four contributions were just a fraction of his 17 so far this season.

Serhou Guirassy ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in a list of the best footballers in the world right now?That seems a bit insane, until you check the stats. When you do check the stats, you'll see that Guirassy has scored 13 Bundesliga goals in just seven appearances for Stuttgart. Yep, 13 goals in seven games. That is remarkable on its own, but factor in the fact that, prior to this season Guirassy had never scored more than 11 goals in a single campaign, and you have probably the most indescribable stat line in the history of mankind.

Although Guirassy sits top of the Bundesliga goalscoring charts, Harry Kane has been the best player in the league thus far. Bayern Munich forked out £82m (according to Uli Hoeness, anyway) for the legendary goalscorer, and in the early months of his career in Bavaria he's more than lived up to the fee. His 14 goals contributions in all competitions has got Bayern fans dreaming of another UEFA Champions League triumph.

There's two stats which prove just how crucial Rodri is to the best football team in the world: 1. Man City have won every single game Rodri has featured in this season.2. Man City have lost every single game Rodri has not featured in this season.

Prior to his four game run without a goal or assist, Kylian Mbappe probably would've been top of this list. That fact that he still has managed eight goals this season despite that poor run of form say a lot about just how unstoppable he was when he initially returned to the PSG lineup in mid-August.

Like Mbappe, Haaland would've been even higher on this list had his most recent performances been of a higher standard. Also like Mbappe however, Haaland has still scored eight goals this season despite only having one pop at goal in the last two weeks. Fairly remarkable, that.

Lautaro Martinez has ascended to previously unthinkable heights in the early weeks of the 2023/24 Serie A season. The Inter captain has cemented his name among the world's truly elite footballers with a quite remarkable 10 goal haul, and seems to only be getting better and better as the weeks progress. Don't be surprised to Lautaro leading Inter out in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League once again in the spring.

It's easy to quantify how good Mohamed Salah is:- The 2022/23 season, in which he scored 19 Premier League goals and racked up 12 assists, was considered a 'down year' for the forward. Salah, as per, has been one of the best performers in the Premier League during the current campaign, tallying up nine goal contributions.

When your stats are being compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's, your goals being compared to Diego Maradona's, and your cultural impact being compared to Michael Jordan, you know you must be a pretty special athlete. And that's exactly what Jude Bellingham is. At just 20 years old, Bellingham has become the leader at the biggest football club in the world by scoring ten goals in ten appearances for Real Madrid. He is simply sublime.