As one of football's most active Twitter users, former England striker Gary Lineker, confirmed that he would be maintaining his Twitter Blue account but only in order to preserve access to the "Edit Tweet" function that comes with the service. SUITA, JAPAN - JULY 25: Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain in action during the preseason friendly between Paris Saint-Germain and Gamba Osaka at Panasonic Stadium Suita on July 25, 2022 in Suita, Osaka, Japan. Son, Suarez, WSL stars up for FIFA Puskas Award. Gerard Pique; 23. Player The list of footballers ranked from 81st to 100th is rather interesting, with a mix of some current players, as well as some top stars from yesteryear, as can be seen below. "A new country, a new team. Transfer Centre LIVE! 1. "But I think the season Salah is having, and the numbers he's got compared to anyone else in the Premier League, which is the best league in the world right now, just shows how far ahead of everybody else in the Premier League he is. His former teammate, Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara, was also nominated. That means there's only four Premier League players in the top 20 (the aforementioned Casemiro and Salah as well as Manchester United 's Harry Maguire and "That is the great challenge for Mbappe," he says. He comes in at 11 ahead of Paul Pogba and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. (1:51). News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. Lewandowski missed out to Messi in the Ballon d'Or voting last year. He's the modern-day version if you like. Lyon's Jean-Luc Vasseur is nominated for the best women's coach along with Chelsea's Emma Hayes and last year's runner-up Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands. Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane also made the cut. "I wasn't convinced it was a great signing for Manchester United, or that it was going to take them any closer to the title or any big trophies, and I would be surprised if he's there next season, I really would. But they have redefined how we see the wide striker in football. Arsenals dream of reaching a first Womens Champions League final since their 2007 triumph came to an end after Pauline Bremers extra-time goal saw Wolfsburg beat the Gunners 5-4 on Cameras catch Jordan Pickford's ingenious system to save Leicester pen. We saw the scenes when he left the club and I think we were all sad to see it. Wiegman was recently appointed England women's new coach and will replace Phil Neville in September 2021. Netherlands, Bayern great finishes marathon in under 3 hours. Among the women's best player nominees are European and French champions Lyon's captain Wendie Renard and former team mate Lucy Bronze, who moved to Manchester City. The duo are more often than not the best player on the pitch whenever they take to the field. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher explains why Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe are the two strongest contenders to the crown of worlds best player, following Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's dominance. Scorers: Sync Arsenal suffer extra-time loss as Wolfsburg reach Womens Champions League final. Ronaldo, a former Real Madrid and Barcelona striker, had spoken Mbappe in the past when he urged his Real to make a move for 23-year-old over his PSG Arsenal's free-scoring Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema also made the shortlist along with Sam Kerr who won the FA Women's Super League last season with Chelsea. 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Neville knows that as well as anyone having watched him dismantle his Valencia side with Barcelona during his time as the La Liga outfit's head coach. Now, were getting into the business end of things, with the players between 11 and 25 being ranked, so expect to see some of the very best to ever step onto a pitch, with eight of the 15 still playing to this day. "I think the toss-up for me would be between Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe," he says. Salah 4. Interestingly, six out of the 20 players ranked from 81 to 100 either currently play for Man United, or have played for Man United in the past, just going to show the dominance of the Red Devils since 2000. Messi and Ronaldo are inevitably at the top, but in which order? "What we mustn't underestimate with Ronaldo and Messi is their resilience, their consistency, the standards season in, season out, the number of games they have played, their toughness, mentally and physically, to withstand all the kickings they will have taken and the criticism they will have had, the pressure and scrutiny that is on them. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 116 (26% of games), 2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar left unverified on Twitter Blue, but Real Madrid pay up for players play Why Man City are favorites vs. Real Madrid in UCL semis (1:33) Son Heung-min vs. Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Mohamed Salah Mbapp HM: Griezmann/Modri Missed league games hurts Ney but he played 43 games total anyway & by far highest performance level when he did play + WC boosts him quite a bit cuz he had by far the best WC of the top 4. Zinedine Zidane is keen on a return to football management this summer but is fully aware his next role will not be at Real Madrid. While everybody from Bill Gates to Kim Kardashian to the pope had their ticks taken away as part of the sitewide cull, a slightly odd turn of events saw three celebrities -- all of whom had been vocal in their criticism of the Twitter Blue scheme -- get their subscriptions paid for by Musk himself. Many of Mahrez's City teammates suffered the same fate with the likes of Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne losing their ticks in one fell swoop. The list is going to cause some controversy, and ironically, probably even more debate, so lets jump right into it and not waste any more of your time. "People call it arrogant, I get that, but he has the ability to back it up. The Worlds Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester When can Manchester City win the Premier League title? Naturally, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are ranked No.1 and No.2 respectively, with the Al Nassr superstar beating the Paris Saint-Germain man to top spot, according to Foot Goal. The Argentines move to PSG means the French club now hold three of the worlds four highest paid players with Neymar (69.68m) and Kylian Mbappe (31.54m) in third and fourth respectively. You wont be able to go to a pub on a Saturday afternoon and not hear a fan from one club telling a fan from another club that their players are better. The award ceremony takes place in London on 24 September, with fans votes, and those ofjournalists, national team coaches and captains all contributing to the outcome of the final three. As far as footballers are concerned, it doesn't appear that Musk has been willing to pay for any players to maintain their status, though a few significant names have obviously signed up to the service in order to protect their verified accounts. There is often a debate about who is the better Premier League centre-back, between Nemanja Vidic, Virgil van Dijk and John Terry, but FourFourTwo has solved that, by putting them in 60th, 54th and 44th places respectively. Neymar, the second most followed footballer on Twitter (62 million) behind Ronaldo, has rejoined the masses by becoming an unverified profile. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi resume their rivalry after being named on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player award, world football's governing body announced on Wednesday. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe hailed as 'two of the best four players Meanwhile, Hansi Flick, who took charge of Bayern in November last year, is nominated for the best men's coach along with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa, Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid and Sevilla's Europa League-winning coach Julen Lopetegui. Even then, though, emulating Messi and Ronaldo's longevity is likely to prove impossible, according to Neville. The list also shows the recent dominance of Man City, with three of the names ranked from 41st to 60th having lined up for the blue half of Manchester. He joined the company as an Academy member in July 2017 and, after a short time working as a freelancer, was given a full-time role in February 2018. A former Manchester United striker, who played with Cristiano Ronaldo at two clubs, believes FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has all the talents that the The final ten will also likely cause a stir, particularly amongst the Team Messi and Team Ronaldo fans. Cristiano 5. They meet again on Dec. 8. It's all about numbers. Please feel free to discuss with us the comment box is below. Lyon's Jean-Luc Vasseur is nominated for the best women's coach along with Chelsea's Emma Hayes and last year's runner-up Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands. "I don't think Haaland and Mbappe can get anywhere near the levels of Ronaldo and Messi. Mbappe Joining them on the shortlist are Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who reached the Champions League final with PSG, while Liverpool's Premier League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane also made the cut. Real Madrid and Belgium forward Eden Hazard completes the top ten on around 21m-a-year. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick, who took charge of Bayern in November last year, is nominated for the best men's coach along with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp, Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa, Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid and Sevilla's Europa League-winning coach Julen Lopetegui. However, the striker can still lay claim to being the best player if he picks up the FIFA award, which will be presented at a ceremony on Dec. 17. Ronaldo has faced huge scrutiny since his return to Manchester United, his performances put under the microscope and his suitability to the side, at 37, discussed ad nauseum despite his continued scoring feats. Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Salah: The top 100 players of Football News and Latest Updates | Football News | Sky Sports (1:51), FIFA Best: Messi vs. Ronaldo rivalry resumes, Liverpool, Tottenham put on a show as Klopp goes overboard, Bundesliga title twists, Haaland scores No. Yesterday's rainy training session! pic.twitter.com/sKZn6xmWxX. "He wouldn't put himself in that bracket - he's got great humility. - ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more I would sign Mbappe, he is the one who most reminds me of me and my playing times, he said. Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland vying to usurp Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as world's best. But, at 34, a player who dominated the sport for well over a decade together with Cristiano Ronaldo returns to the Spanish capital having only scored seven times in 24 games for PSG this season. He adds: "In terms of excitement, thrill, speed, Mbappe is absolutely sensational. The top three finalists in each category will be announced on Dec. 11. The Best FIFA Men's Player: Thiago Alcantara (Spain/Bayern Munich and Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Neymar (Brazil/PSG), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), The Best FIFA Women's Player: Lucy Bronze (England/Lyon and Manchester City), Delphine Cascarino (France/Lyon), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway/Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg and Chelsea), Jennifer Hermoso (Spain/Barcelona), Ji So-yun (South Korea/Chelsea), Sam Kerr (Australia/Chelsea), Saki Kumagai (Japan/Lyon), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Should Man City prioritise signing Haaland over Messi? Ronaldo The Frenchman is six years younger at 23 but dominating the game in the same way as Messi and Ronaldo could be a tall order, according to Carragher. But while Real Madrid have paid top dollar to show their stars' accounts are genuine, Barcelona have shunned the new pay-for-a-tick scheme. I think he's a top player. Cristiano 5. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Iniesta Forever pic.twitter.com/elXQc6D8Ge. They are not so flush as to pay for a gold tick for their official English, Arabic, French, Japanese or Portuguese Twitter feeds. "What Ronaldo and Messi have achieved is out of this world, the numbers have been unrelenting, obscene.". Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Find out the results! "I think there is always competition with him and Mbappe, Lewandowski and Salah in terms of numbers of goals and that's what we seem to judge the best players in the world now, goals scored and assists made. "At times earlier in the season, Salah was at a level that was the best in the world, and he still could be," he says. Son, Suarez, WSL stars up for FIFA Puskas Award. Lothar Matthaus as a midfielder at 1990. Trevoh Chalobah: 6/10. Brentford player ratings (4-3-3) GK: David Raya - 5/10 - Barely troubled for the most part. Ronaldo Nazrio de Lima has named Kylian Mbappe as the player that reminds him of himself during his playing days. World Cup winners Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane join international team-mateMbappe on the list, andGolden Boot winnerHarry Kane is also included. Throw in Champions League games and it's 132. 50, Sources: Slot rivals Nagelsmann for Spurs job, Arrest made after fan wields chainsaw in stands, Wolfsburg beat Arsenal to book UWCL final spot, Kealia, J.J. Watt invest in PL-bound Burnley, Sources: Wrexham rewarded with Vegas trip, Arteta: Unsatisfied Arsenal can still win PL title, Leeds players 'sorry' after video of snubbing fans, Ancelotti echoes Giannis comments on 'failure', The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, Man United in pole position for top four, but can't take their eyes off Liverpool, When goal celebrations go bad: Liverpool boss Klopp pulls hamstring, LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United, PSG to battle for Abraham, Thailand, Vietnam claim opening wins at SEA Games to set pace that Malaysia have to follow, Bayern back in charge, Yamal makes history, Napoli's party spoiled: Weekend Review, Old guard Koroki hands Urawa familiar advantage over Al Hilal in ACL final, Man City go top of Premier League as Haaland scores 50th goal in win at Fulham. Summary Given all statistical values we believe that Junior Neymar is the better player at the moment. In terms of goals and goal involvements per 90 minutes, the four most prolific seasons of his career have all come in the last five years. The next 20 names also make for some rather interesting reading, with 11 of the players ranked, such as Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane, still plying their trade in the Premier League at the moment. "I saw Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney, I thought that would be as good as I would see, but that three at Barcelona were off the scale.". Wide players were there to assist and cross. Messi is currently 131 awards ahead of Ronaldo in second. For a player who averaged more than 30 per season in league games alone at Barcelona, it is unfamiliar territory. "In terms of speed of play, talent, skill, agility, intelligence, link-up play - I've never seen forward play as creative and skilful as I witnessed that day in my life. "He needs to win the Champions League with PSG this season, that would be the ultimate thing for him. As its counted as per the votes by players and coaches, its always interesting to One of Chelsea's biggest problems was that they lacked creativity. Last year, the Juventus strikers former colleague Iker Casillas declared Messi as the greatest of all time, while Raul Gonzalez, who he played just one season Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar left unverified on Twitter Blue, but If theres one thing football fans love in this world, its a debate. "There's no doubt he's a great player but I think he's missed that chance to be the best player in the world, certainly with Mbappe and Haaland now coming.". Neymar 2. Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is sixth on 25m, while Liverpools Mohamed Salah completes the top five with earnings of around 30m-a-year. Mbapp HM: Griezmann/Modri Missed league games hurts Ney but he played 43 games total anyway & by far highest - ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric also makes the final 10 as he claimed Champions League gloryand played a pivotal role in Croatia's run tothe World Cup final - ending the competition as the Golden Ball winner as the tournament's best player. For Carragher, though, his numbers are most important. Neymars playing salary is the third highest in the world, and incredibly just the third highest on his own PSG team. "Football needs people like him, it needs personality. I think he went for the wrong reasons. 50, Sources: Slot rivals Nagelsmann for Spurs job, Arrest made after fan wields chainsaw in stands, Wolfsburg beat Arsenal to book UWCL final spot, Kealia, J.J. Watt invest in PL-bound Burnley, Sources: Wrexham rewarded with Vegas trip, Arteta: Unsatisfied Arsenal can still win PL title, Leeds players 'sorry' after video of snubbing fans, Ancelotti echoes Giannis comments on 'failure', The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, Man United end Villa's run, take step towards top-four finish against backdrop of fan protests, When goal celebrations go bad: Liverpool boss Klopp pulls hamstring, LIVE Transfer Talk: Man United, PSG to battle for Abraham, Bayern back in charge, Yamal makes history, Napoli's party spoiled: Weekend Review, Man City go top of Premier League as Haaland scores 50th goal in win at Fulham. PSG's trip to the Bernabeu on Wednesday is not just a chance for Messi and Mbappe to strengthen their claim for the crown of world's best. "He's won the Champions League with Barcelona, and it would be a great achievement if he did the same with PSG. Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo replaces PSGs Lionel Messi as highest-paid footballer in Forbes list with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Ronaldo, a former Real Madrid and Barcelona striker, had spoken Mbappe in the past when he urged his Real to make a move for 23-year-old over his PSG teammate, Neymar. Find out the results! "But if you said to me I could sign one player for Manchester United tomorrow, I would still probably go for Mbappe or Haaland over Salah. play But the Bayern Munich striker won FIFA's version of the prize on both occasions and few could argue he didn't deserve them. The Best FIFA Men's Player: Thiago Alcantara (Spain/Bayern Munich and Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Neymar (Brazil/PSG), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), The Best FIFA Women's Player: Lucy Bronze (England/Lyon and Manchester City), Delphine Cascarino (France/Lyon), Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway/Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg and Chelsea), Jennifer Hermoso (Spain/Barcelona), Ji So-yun (South Korea/Chelsea), Sam Kerr (Australia/Chelsea), Saki Kumagai (Japan/Lyon), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Should Man City prioritise signing Haaland over Messi? Ronaldo leapfrogs Messi as best-paid footballer with Not an everyday trio of celebrities you would put together. Carragher says: "He does, and it's just unfortunate for him that he's at the peak of his powers when Messi and Ronaldo have been around in these last few years. Bayern Munich's treble-winning Robert Lewandowski will battle it out with Juventus star Ronaldo and Barcelona's Messi after finishing as top goal scorer in the Champions League and Bundesliga last season. Who was your country's GOAT? According to Goal, the Brazil legend said if he had the chance to make a dream signing now, it has to be the Paris Saint-Germain forward. Lyon's Jean-Luc Vasseur is nominated for the best women's coach along with Chelsea's Emma Hayes and last year's runner-up Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands. "He had a brilliant season in his last season at Barcelona, with the numbers you would always expect him to get, but it hasn't quite clicked for him at Paris Saint-Germain, maybe for a number of reasons. Messi 3. Cristiano Ronaldo is comfortably the most followed sportsperson on Twitter with a fanbase of around 108.3 million, but even the Portuguese star has seen his verified status vanish into the ether. Haaland is still only 21 but his formidable goalscoring record already places him among the elite. "To play at that level for Manchester United at 37 is unbelievable, but we're judging him against the player he was before that. As you may well have heard, thousands of A-list celebrities, sportspeople and other notable figures have been forced to surrender their Twitter verified status this week after the "blue tick" mark was removed -- unless it's paid for. FIFA Best: Messi vs. Ronaldo rivalry resumes as "It wasn't always the guy who scored the most goals but I think Messi and Ronaldo have changed that.". Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, the Premier League's player of the year last season, also made the shortlist as did Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. Julien Laurens debates whether Erling Haaland would be a better signing than Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have both dominated world football for much of the past two decades.