Top Football Players of 2022 Ranked

The Guardian has published its ranking of the best football players of 2022. Topping the list is Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to victory in the World Cup at the end of the year. In second place is Messi's teammate Kylian Mbappé. Rounding out the top three is Karim Benzema, who won the Ballon d'Or in October.

Below is the published ranking of the top ten players (with their positions from the 2021 rankings in parentheses):

1. Lionel Messi (2)
2. Kylian Mbappé (6)
3. Karim Benzema (4)
4. Erling Haaland (7)
5. Luka Modrić (40)
6. Kevin De Bruyne (10)
7. Robert Lewandowski (1)
8. Vinícius Júnior (31)
9. Thibaut Courtois (53)
10. Mohamed Salah (3)

It is noteworthy that Cristiano Ronaldo finished in 51st place.