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Welcome to the twelfth installment of the Guardian’s ranking of the top 100 male footballers. Many changes have occurred since our initial list in 2012, including updates to our online format. However, the process remains unchanged: we invite esteemed ex-players and journalists to form a voting panel and share their evaluations on the top players in the world for 2023.
In 2012, we had a panel of 11 judges who determined the list. This year, 218 judges including well-known football players Philipp Lahm, Karen Carney, and Walter Casagrande are participating. The jury also includes former players like Aldair, Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Gilles De Bilde, as well as a variety of coaches, broadcasters, reporters, correspondents, and editors from different countries, making it a diverse and knowledgeable global panel. The 19 current and former professionals on the jury have a total of 1,041 international caps between them.
The countdown will start at 9am GMT on Tuesday, December 19th, beginning with numbers 100 to 71. On Wednesday, we will disclose numbers 70 to 41, followed by numbers 40 to 11 on Thursday. Finally, on Friday, the top 10 will be announced, concluding this year’s list.
The list of judges is followed by a detailed explanation of the top 100 rules. The judges are organized in alphabetical order according to their categories.
How the voting works
Each judge’s top choice received 40 points, the second choice received 39 points, and so on until the 40th choice received 1 point. These points were added together to determine the raw score. To reduce the impact of any extreme choices, the highest score given to a player was subtracted from the total to calculate the final score.
In order to be included on the list, a player must receive votes from a minimum of five judges. In the event of a tie, the number of individual votes received will be used as a tie-breaker. The breakdown of individual votes will be made public once the complete list is announced.
Voting disclosure
We would like to thank our judges for their participation, and no compensation was given for their involvement in this project.
In order to ensure that our judges can freely share their opinions without any bias, the individual voting records will be kept anonymous in the detailed breakdown of scores.
The voters are distinguished solely by their category and a randomly selected number. The assigned numbers for the judges are not connected to the alphabetical list of their names displayed above.
Players
Aldair is a former Brazilian football player who represented his country 80 times and was part of the World Cup winning team in 1994.
Björn Andersson, a former Swedish national team player, had 25 appearances and competed in the 1974 World Cup.
Kari Arnason, a former Icelandic soccer player with 90 appearances for the national team, participated in the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup. He currently serves as the football director for Víkingur, who won both the league and cup titles in 2023.
Rune Bratseth, a retired football player from Norway, represented his country in 60 matches and was the captain of the national team during the 1994 World Cup.
Karen Carney, a retired English soccer player, represented her country in 144 matches and participated in four FIFA World Cups.
Walter Casagrande Former Brazil international with 19 caps who played at the 1986 World Cup
Former Belgian football player Gilles De Bilde, who represented his country in 25 matches.
Erik Edman, a retired Swedish football player, represented his country in 57 matches and also competed in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Jan Åge Fjørtoft, a retired professional soccer player from Norway, represented his country in 71 matches and participated in the 1994 World Cup.
Hernanes, a previous player for the Brazilian national team, had 29 appearances and participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
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Thomas Hitzlsperger, a former German football player, represented his country in 52 matches and participated in the 2006 World Cup.
Philipp Lahm, a retired German football player, earned 113 appearances for the national team and led them to victory as the captain in the 2014 World Cup.
Lucas Leiva, a former Brazilian player, had 24 appearances for the national team and spent 10 years with Liverpool from 2007 to 2017.
Lucio is a retired Brazilian soccer player who represented his country in 105 matches and was a member of the winning team in the 2002 World Cup.
Janusz Michallik, a former American soccer player with 44 appearances for the national team, currently serves as a football analyst for ESPN.
Ramires, a former Brazilian football player, represented his country in 52 international matches and participated in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Aymen Tahar is an Algerian midfielder who has played for various teams, including Boavista.
Frédéric Waseige, a retired midfielder, achieved victories in both the Belgian Cup and League Cup while playing for FC Liège. He currently works as a television analyst.
work together to create a game plan.
The coaches and technical staff collaborate to develop a strategy for the game.
Fatih Terim Former Milan, Galatasaray and Turkey coach
Magnús Már Einarsson Head coach of Afturelding in Iceland
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Journalists
Ed Aarons, the Guardian’s deputy news editor.
Amir Abdelhalim Journalist and TV host
Mohamed Abubakar Multimedia sports journalist who is the Africa sports correspondent for China Global Television Network
Ahmed Adala is a journalist from Tunisia who works for Radio Mosaïque FM.
Nuhu Adams is a knowledgeable individual in African football and also a member of the writing team at ghanasoccernet.com.
Omar Al Raisi is the creator of Dantani, Inc. and the top editor at the Sports Journal in the United Arab Emirates.
Davit Alaverdyan Chief editor, Mediamax Media Company, Armenia
Abdulmohsen Algabbani is a football editor located in Saudi Arabia.
Gary Al-Smith is an expert on African sports and has written for publications such as the Guardian and the BBC. He is also a co-author of LeGyanDary, which is the authorized autobiography of Asamoah Gyan.
Tobias Altschäffl is the primary football correspondent for Sport-Bild in Germany.
The Guardian’s European sport correspondent is Nick Ames.
Juan Arango is a football commentator for AFA Play and also works as a correspondent for Al Jazeera.
Thiago Arantes Movistar+ commentator and UOL columnist
Marcela Mora y Araujo is a football writer from Argentina.
Emanuele Atturo is the main editor at ultimouomo.com and also contributes to the Fenomeno podcast.
Philippe Auclair is a contributor to Josimar and the Guardian, as well as the England correspondent for Eurosport, France Football, and RTS. He is also a biographer of Juan Mata, Thierry Henry, and Eric Cantona.
Momodou Bah Writer for BBC Sport and CAF Online
Nicky Bandini is a correspondent for Italian football for the Guardian.
Jorge Baravalle, a journalist for ESPN, specializes in analyzing European football.
John Bennett is a broadcaster for both BBC World Service and BBC 5 Live.
Patrick Berger is a Sky Sports journalist based in Germany, reporting on international football, the Bundesliga, and the German national team.
Football journalist Luca Bianchin from La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Christoph Biermann is a football writer for 11Freunde based in Germany.
Eduardo Biscayart is a commentator for European football on Fox Sports Mexico and Telemundo (USA).
Manuel Bonke Chief reporter at TZ München and Münchner Merkur
Andy Brassell is a European football writer and broadcaster.
Costas Bratsos is a football journalist for Sport24.gr in Greece.
Feargal Brennan is a journalist for Football Espana.
John Brewin is a football writer for the Guardian.
Rodrigo Bueno is a commentator for ESPN Brasil and also a contributor to World Soccer Digest.
Felipe Cárdenas is a writer for The Athletic, focusing on MLS and the sport of football in both Mexico and Conmebol.
Massimo Callegari is a commentator for live Champions League games and is also the presenter of the Sunday night TV program, Pressing, on Mediaset in Italy.
Lassana Camara is a sports journalist from Mauritania who covers football for both PAF France and Sport News Africa. He is also a contributor to Africa 24.
Susy Campanale is a writer for Football Italia.
Pedro Canelo works as a journalist for El Comercio newspaper in Peru.
Lédio Carmona Brazilian football journalist and SporTV commentator
Antonio Casale is a sports journalist with over 25 years of professional experience. He currently serves as the sports director at RCN Radio and also contributes to ESPN and the El Espectador newspaper.
Carolina Castellanos is a sports journalist for RCN Radio and La Titular, where she covers and provides commentary on a variety of sports.
Hernán Castillo is the sports editor at Continental Radio and also serves as a producer for the films Muchachos and Cierren los ojos.
Ivaylo Chilev Football journalist and Champions League broadcast producer at bTV Media Group in Bulgaria
Rodolfo Chisleanschi is a sports journalist for La Nación in Argentina.
Marcus Christenson Football special projects editor, the Guardian
Solace Chukwu is the senior editor for Pulse Sports Nigeria.
Santiago Cordera Head of strategy and projects at Tikitaka
Alfredo Coronis Journalist at Hot 94.1 FM/Conexión Goleadora
Adriano Del Monte International TV presenter (beIN Sports, BT Sport, Fifa, Uefa)
Haresh Deol Editor and co-founder of TwentyTwo13 in Malaysia
Gianluca Di Marzio is a transfer specialist and global journalist for Sky Sports Italia.
John Duerden is a football correspondent for the Guardian, specializing in Asian football.
Wolfram Eilenberger is a German author, thinker, and certified soccer coach known for his works such as “Time of the Magicians” and “The Visionaries.”
Amine El Amri is a sports journalist who works for Le Matin newspaper in Morocco.
Adam Elder is a magazine editor from the United States and also works as a freelance writer.
Kasper Elissaar is the chief editor of Soccernet in Estonia.
Jeroen Elshoff, a commentator for NOS Dutch National Television, covers football matches.
Rodrigo Errasti, the creator of Imagosport Communication and ex-sports editor for Agencia Colpisa-Vocento in Spain.
I am a journalist employed by beIN Sports in Egypt.
Christian Falk is the Head of Football at Sport-Bild in Germany.
Alinne Fanelli is a journalist for Bandnews in Brazil.
Giorgio Farina is a sports journalist and researcher who writes for RAI television’s football shows.
Ryan Fenix, a TV commentator from the Philippines.
Maria Fernanda Mora is a sports journalist at Televisa-Univision and serves as the host of Contacto Deportivo in Mexico and the USA. She is also an analyst for women’s football.
Martín Fernandez is a senior football writer for Globoesporte in Brazil.
Ezequiel Fernández Moores is a columnist at La Nación who has reported on nine World Cups.
Barak Fever is a football commentator for ESPN.
Ben Fisher is a football reporter for the Guardian.
Oliver Fritsch Sports editor of Zeit Online
Alex Frosio Football editor at La Gazzetta dello Sport
Jonas Giaever, a journalist from Norway who specializes in football and is also one of the creators of the football app fcQuiz.
Barry Glendenning is a football writer and a frequent guest on Guardian Football Weekly.
Fabián Godoy is a commentator and tactical analyst from Argentina and Spain. He is known for his work with Directv Sports, TNT Sports, and CNN Radio, and also serves as the Argentina correspondent for Cadena Cope in Spain.
Andreas Hagenauer Football journalist at Der Standard
Arafat Hamrouni is a sports reporter for Foot24 and Sports24 in Tunisia.
Daniel Harris is a sports writer and filmmaker for The Guardian newspaper.
Kevin Hatchard is a commentator for the Bundesliga world feed, Uefa, and TalkSport.
Kerry Hau Chief sports reporter at Sport1, covering Bayern Munich and the national team
Johannes Hofer is a presenter for Sky Sport Austria.
I am Gustavo Hofman, a journalist covering football and also serving as a commentator for ESPN in Brazil.
Semra Hunter Football broadcast journalist/TV presenter
Azmaal Hydoo Head of football at Mauritius’s bestselling paper and magazine, L’Express
David Hytner Chief football correspondent, the Guardian
Seo Hyung-wook MBC TV commentator, Footballist CEO, South Korea
Iacopo Iandiorio serves as the deputy editor in chief for international football at La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Sasa Ibrulj is a writer from Bosnia who specializes in football.
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Kristian Jack is the Vice President of the Canadian Premier League. He is also a host, reporter, and writer for television and radio.
Behnam Jafarzadeh is the deputy editor at Varzesh3.com, based in Iran.
The chief editor of Sportske.net is Boris Jovanovic.
Raphaël Jucobin French football and rugby writer
Celestine Karoney is a journalist from Kenya who covers sports.
Jamie Kemble is a football journalist based in Valencia who writes for National World publications. He also produces content and translates for the Spanish football club Eibar.
Ali Khaled Sports editor at Arab News
Tom Kludt Sports writer based in the US
Ermal Kuka Sports journalist at Panorama Sport in Albania
Samindra Kunti Freelance football journalist
Cecilia Lagos is an ESPN correspondent who is stationed in the Netherlands.
Steven Lavon is a writer and communication manager for the Togo Football Association.
Sergio Levinsky is a journalist who works for Infobae and Jornada in Argentina, as well as Kicker in Germany.
Gianluca Lia is a journalist who covers sports for the Times of Malta.
Fabio Licari Head of international department at Gazzetta delo Sport
Jonathan Liew is a sports writer for the Guardian.
Mansour Loum Editor-in-chief at Sport News Africa
Sid Lowe is the Spanish football correspondent for the Guardian.
Alexandre Lozetti is a commentator and writer for Globo.
Olof Lundh is a Swedish sports journalist who writes for Fotbollskanalen and Dagens Industri, and also serves as a commentator for TV4 and an author.
Ben Lyttleton is a writer and advisor in the field of football.
Ben Mabley Japan-based television commentator
Mpho Maboi Sports broadcaster on radio and TV
Jaime F. Macias is a football analyst for MLS on Apple TV and Telemundo/NBC Universal.
Robin-Duke Madlala is a journalist for IDiski Times and also works as a freelancer for BBC.
Luca Marchetti serves as the Editor in Chief for Sky Sport Italia and also oversees the transfer market team.
Nebojsa Markovic is a sports journalist for RT Balkan.
Gergely Marosi is a freelance sports journalist and football writer based in Hungary. He contributes to Sport24.
Everaldo Marques is a Brazilian sports commentator for football.
Pierre Maturana is the Director of the French publication SoFoot.com and the lifestyle media Dégaine by So Foot.
Martin Mazur is a football correspondent from Argentina who writes for La Gazzetta dello Sport, FourFourTwo, and 11Freunde. He is also the Director of AIPS Sport Media Awards.
Chisom Mbonu-Ezeoke Sports TV presenter and producer with Supersport. Host of the Naijamade show and co-host of the Superpicks show
Ugur Meleke Hurriyet columnist and beinSports pundit
Marcus Mergulhao is the sports editor at the Times of India.
Maher Mezahi is a journalist who primarily focuses on covering sports in the North African region.
Colin Millar is a football writer and journalist for the Athletic.
Macedonia-based freelance sports journalist and soccer writer, Filip Mishov.
Matteo Moretto Relevo journalist
Tomasz Mortimer Hungarian football writer
Dmitriy Mostovoy is a commentator for Setanta Sports in Kazakhstan.
Rasim Movsumzadeh has contributed to Kicker and the European Football Yearbook and has served as Azerbaijan’s representative on the Ballon d’Or jury since 2000.
Hassanin Mubarak Football writer and author of Far from War and Politics: the story of Iraq’s 2007 Asian Cup victory
Ricardo Murguía is the commentator for TNT Sports México for the Champions League.
The Guardian’s Scottish football correspondent is Ewan Murray.
Hirofumi Nakano is a radio show host and journalist based in Japan.
Sachin Nakrani is a football writer for the Guardian.
Mauricio Noriega, a journalist from Brazil, is also a commentator for SporTV.
Osasu Obayiuwana British-Nigerian journalist who has been reporting on international football and its politics for over 30 years
Hernan O’Donnell, a journalist for Universo Deportivo, has also contributed to El Gráfico and La Nación in the past.
Antonis Oikonomidis Greek freelance football writer
“I am a journalist for BBC Sport, World Soccer, and Al Jazeera online.”
Rafael Oliveira is a sports reporter covering football and also works as a commentator for Amazon Prime Video in Brazil.
Collins Okinyo African football journalist and managing editor of soka25east.com
Kawowo Sports was founded by Joseph Owino.
Álex Pareja Sports journalist at ESPN
Juan Carlos Pasman is an Argentinian journalist who hosts his own programs on DirecTV Sports and Radio La Red.
Artur Petrosyan is a football journalist who resides in Paris.
Kieran Quaile, an editor for Get Spanish Football News.
Thiago Rabelo, a journalist from Brazil, also contributes to The Guardian.
Derek Rae is a commentator for ESPN who covers the Bundesliga and La Liga, as well as being a commentator for the Fifa 22 video game.
Sports
Marion Reimers is a journalist and commentator for TNT Sports. She is also the founder and president of Versus Sports.
Roberto Rivera is a sports commentator and producer who owns Gol Dreams Films. He also hosts a show on WAO (radio) and Gol Magazine (TV) in Panama.
Tom Robinson Senior content producer at Hudl and South American football writer, podcaster and scout
Vitor Sergio Rodrigues Commentator at TNT Sports Brazil
The editor-in-chief of Deporte Total USA is José Armando Rodríguez.
Roberto Rojas Associate editor at ESPN FC
Fabrizio Romano is a journalist for Sky Sport Italy and a contributor for The Guardian.
Emanuel Rosu is a journalist from Romania who covers the sport of football.
Stephan Roth Reporter at Swiss daily Blick
Guillermo Rubio “Gumi” Freelance sports journalist working for, among others, Fox Sports Argentina and Onda Cero in Spain
Jeff Rueter is a football writer for The Athletic.
Max Rushden is the host of Guardian Football Weekly.
Graham Ruthven Football journalist based in Scotland
Mina Rzouki is a writer, presenter, and football analyst who appears on various media outlets such as BBC 5live, BBC Sportsworld, Sky Sports, CNN, ESPN, and TRT World.
Marwan Saeed is the manager of KingFut.com.
Emre Sarigul, the creator and editor of turkish-football.com.
Josué Seixas Brazilian football journalist who contributes for the Guardian, Daily Mail and Folha de S. Paulo
Metodi Shumanov Bulgarian football writer
Vidir Sigurdsson is the sports editor for Morgunbladid and mbl.is, as well as the author of the Icelandic Football Yearbook.
Nacho Silván, the co-founder of Imagosport and an expert in professional football analysis.
Miguel Simón is a renowned football expert for ESPN Latin America.
Matt Spiro French football writer/broadcaster
Manos Staramopoulos Chief editor of Discoveryfootball.com, Demokratia and Foxssportstories and contributor to SportPress24.com and Overfm 104,9
Mojmir Stasko is a football writer for Dennik Sport in Slovakia.
Football journalist Jacob Steinberg, who writes for the Guardian.
“I am Nikos Stratis, a sports writer and international football analyst. I also work as a TV presenter and radio producer at Kingsport.gr.”
Keeshaanan Sundaresan Host/writer at Astro SuperSport, Malaysia
“Ilta-Sanomat’s football journalist, Saku-Pekka Sundelin”
Aet Süvari Estonian football reporter
Agris Suveizda is a reporter for Sportacentrs.com based in Latvia.
Jonathan Tannenwald is a football journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Paolo Tomaselli is a football journalist for Corriere Della Sera since 2002. He is located in Milan and covers the Champions League, the national team, and Inter.
Mihovil Topic is the head football journalist at Telesport in Croatia.
Nuno Travassos Executive editor at A Bola
Riccardo Trevisani is a commentator for Sportmediaset.
I am a sports journalist named Tran Duc Truong from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I work for ZingNews.
I am a pundit on local radio and the editor at Soccer Ethiopia, Dawit Tsehaye.
Darren Tulett is a presenter for beIN Sports in France.
Unwin, a football writer for the Guardian.
Petter Veland Norwegian TV commentator and La Liga expert for Viasat
Manuel Veth is the North America regional manager for Transfermarkt, as well as the creator of the Gegenpressing Podcast and Newsletter.
Ari Virtanen is a sports journalist who works for Helsingin Sanomat, a publication based in Finland.
Raul Vilchis is a sports journalist from Mexico who is currently based in New York.
Bart Vlietstra is a Dutch journalist who covers football for de Volkskrant and Santos magazine.
Lukas Vrablik Slovakian football expert
I am a freelance journalist and producer specializing in football.
Alejandro Wall is an Argentinian sports journalist who contributes to Tiempo Argentino, Radio Con Vos, and Fox Sports.
Dan Wighton reports on Bundesliga and other German sports for AFP.
Greg Wilcox Freelance sports journalist and football writer
Julien Wolff is a football journalist who reports on Bayern Munich for Welt and Welt am Sonntag.
Carl Worswick, a football writer currently located in Colombia.
Michael Yokhin European football writer
Chinese football journalist Bi Yuan, currently working at Titan Sports in Beijing.
Victor Zaferson Mendoza is a football scout and analyst who operates out of Peru.
Miran Zore is the head editor of the Slovenian sports website Nogomania.
Source: theguardian.com
