Rankings

Ranking the 5 best Barcelona players in 2025
8Apr By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best Barcelona players in 2025

Who are the best Barcelona players right now in 2025? 5. CB Inigo Martinez I bounced back and forth between Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez, and I also think fellow central defenders Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde merit serious consideration here, especially since Kounde has become such a great right back in his own right despite being a center back at heart. Cubarsi is even better on the ball and has more future potential as an 18-year-old phenom who is, in a way, Lamine Yamal's defensive equivalent. But how could I leave Martinez off a list of the best Barcelona players RIGHT NOW, when, RIGHT NOW, Martinez is one of the best center backs on the planet. That may seem like a crazy statement, but it's only absurd to the uninformed. Martinez has been a top-level center back in LaLiga ...
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Ranking the 5 best AC Milan players in 2025
8Apr By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best AC Milan players in 2025

Who are AC Milan's best players right now in 2025? 5. RW Christian Pulisic Although a certain segment of Serie A fans hailing from a certain country will overrate Christian Pulisic and bloviate about how he's a better player than Rafael Leao despite having a fraction of the Portuguese international's ability, there's no questioning the fact that Pulisic is one of the best wingers in Serie A in his own right and is capable of outplaying his left-sided teammate for stretches. Pulisic has gone from overhyped Dortmund prospect and inconsistent Chelsea rotational piece to one of the best attacking players in Serie A and someone AC Milan can legitimately build their team around. He's also become more unselfish in Italian football, improving as a passer and creator with a superior work ra...
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Ranking the 10 best penalty takers in world football in 2025
6Apr By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best penalty takers in world football in 2025

Who are the best penalty kick takers in world football right now in 2025? 10.  Ante Budimir, Osasuna Ante Budimir probably isn't going to win the Pichichi trophy over Big Two LaLiga superstars Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe, but the fact that a striker from Osasuna is in the conversation is a huge feat, reminiscent of that one time Dani Guiza won the Pichichi more than a decade ago. A standout of LaLiga for years, dating back to his days at Mallorca, Budimir has morphed into one of the best pure finishers in world football and that deadly accuracy extends to the penalty spot where he has converted all seven of his attempts in the current league campaign. 9. Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has come a long way since his high-profile miss against Yann So...
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Ranking the 5 best Serie A managers in 2025
6Apr By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 5 best Serie A managers in 2025

A ranking of the best managers in Serie A right now in 2025, based solely on current coaching quality. 5. Claudio Ranieri, Roma Claudio Ranieri took over from stopgap coach Ivan Juric (now at Juventus, interestingly enough) in November for a Roma side that was seemingly doomed following their dismissal of club legend Daniele De Rossi, who had already replaced another great coach in Jose Mourinho. Both the Mourinho and De Rossi firings were wildly unpopular with Roma fans, as both coaches were beloved by the Giallorossi faithful and had shown that they could be the right men to lead Roma. In his third stint with Roma, the latest club icon to take the reins has quickly turned things around in the capital, and Roma are now ahead of local rivals Lazio. They have been impressive with th...
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Ranking the 10 best LaLiga goalkeepers right now in 2025
4Apr By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best LaLiga goalkeepers right now in 2025

I don't think a lot of fans - including some pretty hardcore ones - understand just how brilliant LaLiga's goalkeepers have been over the past several years. And I'm not just talking about the divine trinity of Thibaut Courtois, Jan Oblak, and Marc Andre-ter Stegen at the "Big Three" either, because, let's face it, Oblak and MATS had a couple of rough seasons in between some monster ones. No, even when you look at the other goalkeepers they've fielded like Juan Musso, Wojciech Szczesny, and Andriy Lunin, all those guys would be top five-goalkeepers in many other top European leagues. But beyond the Big Three is where you really get to see talent. Remember Edgar Badia and Jeremias Ledesma? How about Alex Remiro at Real Sociedad? He's been on highlight reels in LaLiga for years. Now...
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Ranking the 10 best Brazilian footballers in the world right now in 2025
17Feb By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best Brazilian footballers in the world right now in 2025

Who is the best Brazilian footballer in the world right now at this very second in 2025? Using only advanced statistics at FBref.com and objectively analyzing data from the 2024/25 season, we ranked the top 10 Brazilian players in the world today. 10. Fiorentina RB Dodo Dodo got some hype on Shakhtar Donetsk and was their actual best player in the early 2020s - not Mykhaylo Mudryk - but it took him a second season to really find his footing at Fiorentian. Now, Dodo is arguably the best player on a Viola side that is a sneaky Serie A title contender, and while a top-four fight is more realistic, what Dodo and Fiorentian are doing in 2024/25 is undoubtedly impressive. While Dodo may not be the first name on everyone's lips when discussing the best Brazilian footballers in the worl...
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Ranking the 10 best attacking midfielders in the Premier League for 2025
16Feb By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best attacking midfielders in the Premier League for 2025

Who are the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League right now in 2025? Combining defensive output, goal-scoring chance creation, one-on-one ability, work rate, experience, current value, and versatility in the modern game with analytics provided by FBRef.com, we ranked the top 10. 10. Bernardo Silva, Manchester City Although Bernardo Silva is in the decline phase of his career, the versatile Manchester City attacking midfielder is still one of the best in the Premier League in his position by virtue of his ability to continue to get into scraps and create chances. Silva is now 30 but still as hard-working as they come. The Portuguese international is in the 90th percentile or greater in assists and progressive carries while being in the 87th percentile among all midfielders i...
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Ranking the 10 best Primeira Liga players in 2025
15Feb By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best Primeira Liga players in 2025

The Primeira Liga, also known as Liga Portugal, is Portugal's top professional footballing division and has produced some of the world's finest players, including the legendary Angel Di Maria and Manchester City star center back Ruben Dias. Who are the best current players in the Primeira Liga right now in 2025? Weighing basic box score stats like goals and assists while integrating passing, defensive, and possession-based analytics from FBRef.com, here is a current ranking of the best players in Portuguese football 10. Estoril DM Jordan Holsgrove The most underrated player in the Primeira Liga right now in 2025, Jordan Holsgrove is a top defensive midfielder who is doing a fine job donning the No. 10 for overlooked Estoril. A Scottish international, Holsgrove is one to watch in...
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Ranking the 10 best wingers in Serie A in 2025
14Feb By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best wingers in Serie A in 2025

Who is the best winger in Serie A right now? Let's use expected goals, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, passes into the penalty area, and successful take-ons to build a list of the best wide players in the Italian top flight here in 2025. All statistics are from FBRef.com and any player who can feasibly offer attacking contributions on the wing is eligible to be ranked. The top 10 eligible players in each statistically category were assigned points ranging from 10 to 1 based on their ranking, with first place receiving the maximum of 10 points. Then, shot-creating actions were tripled and xG doubled to weigh chance-creation and goal-scoring as the two most important categories, respectively. Tie-breakers were given to the player who appeared in the top 10 of more unique...
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Ranking the 10 best Premier League left backs for 2025
7Jan By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best Premier League left backs for 2025

Tottenham star Destiny Udogie and U21 standout Lewis Hall of Newcastle help headline our list of the best Premier League left backs going into 2025. 10. Emerson Palmieri, West Ham It's incredible to think that the battle for the 10th-best left back in the Premier League comes down to Emerson Palmieri and Andrew Robertson...and the easy answer ends up being Emerson. The former Chelsea disappointment has revived his career as a defensive left back at West Ham, which is shocking considering he was branded a defensive liability for much of his career. But between the two 30-year-old veterans of the Premier League, Emerson is the one who looks far less washed and can at least hold his own against an average starting right winger. 9. Leif Davis, Ipswich Town Although Leif Davis has bee...
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