Rankings News and Analysis

2026 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Lamine Yamal’s hat trick

28Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

2026 Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Lamine Yamal’s hat trick

Lamine Yamal had a performance for the ages on Saturday afternoon, as Barcelona shredded Villarreal 4-1 behind the first hat trick of the 18 year old right winger's career, dominating the third best team in Spanish football in the process. Here are the latest updated 2026 Ballon d'Or Power Rankings after Yamal's fleet footed, clinical goal fest against the Yellow Submarine. 5. Real Madrid CF Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe is currently out with a left knee injury that has been slowing him down for several weeks, and after aggravating the injury further, Real have shut the Frenchman down. But he is still having an incredible season as the star man for Madrid, scoring 23 goals with 2.7 dribbles completed and 2.3 key passes per game, ranking him second behind only Ya...

Ranking Chelsea’s 5 best players of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far

24Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking Chelsea’s 5 best players of the 2025/26 Premier League season so far

Chelsea are still in the hunt for Champions League places and having a positive season overall, even if they haven't quite shown the same growth in 2025/26 and even had to fire Enzo Maresca after his promising start to the campaign. But if new manager Liam Rosenior can continue to get the best out of Premier League Player of the Season caliber playmaker Cole Palmer, the Blues should be able to soak up more Champions League football and maybe even tease title contention at the end of the campaign. Here is a ranking of the five best Chelsea players of the Premier League season so far, using analytics from WhoScored, SofaScore, and FBRef.com. 5. CB Wesley Fofana Estevao Willian and even fellow center back Trevoh Chalobah were tough snubs, but Estevao is still a way's away from being a...

Ranking the 10 best young La Liga players in 2026

22Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 10 best young La Liga players in 2026

Unfortunately, La Liga is falling behind the other top five European leagues in terms of spending, so talent development on a grassroots level has become more important for Spanish clubs than ever before. Sadly, by the same token, La Liga are falling behind in developing talent, particularly the academies at the smallest clubs in Spain. They are seeing their talents poached and having more difficulty initially bringing bright young talents aboard with the scouting networks of Real Madrid and Barcelona, in particular, only growing stronger. It is no surprise, of course, that Real Madrid and Barcelona dominate the list of the best young players in La Liga today, and, in truth, these two powerhouse clubs have the best collection of young talent in the world out of any clubs around - and...

2025/26 Champions League Power Rankings after first leg of playoffs

20Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

2025/26 Champions League Power Rankings after first leg of playoffs

The first leg of the playoffs before the Champions League Round of 16 have been completed, and already, clubs like Juventus and Qarabag look to be out of it entirely after suffering blowout losses. Meanwhile, other notable clubs like Atalanta and Inter Milan are very much on the ropes, while Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid remain in tight contests after the first leg. Clubs on bye weeks are sitting pretty right now, but even contenders like Liverpool and PSG will be on high alert amidst disappointing seasons in their respective league campaigns. Following another week of thrilling Champions League action, let's take a look at the latest power rankings, picking the top 10 teams in the competition thus far with the best chance of winning it all. 10. Borussia Dor...

Ranking the 10 biggest stars in the Premier League in 2026

19Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 10 biggest stars in the Premier League in 2026

The Premier League is the biggest league in world football, and the gap between the English top flight and all the other top five European leagues is only increasing in terms of both fan support and financial power. Nowadays, the biggest names are no longer in the Italian league, and while the biggest attacking superstars are still in La Liga, the Premier League is closing the gap on them, too, especially when looking outside Real Madrid and Barcelona. While talent is becoming more concentrated in the Big Six - which is quietly becoming more of a Big Five - of the Premier League these days, too, the overall star power in England still feels like it is growing overall. Instead of ranking the 10 best players in the Premier League solely based on numbers or on who is the best actual ...

Ranking the 25 best Serie A players of the 2025/26 season so far

14Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 25 best Serie A players of the 2025/26 season so far

Briefly, Serie A was bucking the trend of being a league known for its top-notch defensive quality by having high-scoring games and open play, but that period has ended almost as quickly as it began. Although there are a few attacking standouts in Serie A these days like Lautaro Martinez and Nico Paz, the best players in the league right now are defenders. The Italian top flight, pound for pound, has the best central defenders and goalkeepers, and these players make up the majority of the list of the best footballers in the league in the 2025/26 season. Here are the top 25 players of the current campaign thus far, and while Inter Milan predictably dominate the rankings, the rest of the spread is pretty even among the other European contenders in Calcio. 25. Cremonese GK Emil Auder...

Ranking the 10 most clutch players in world football in 2026

11Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 10 most clutch players in world football in 2026

Defining the most clutch footballers in the world is a difficult task nowadays, because the titans of the past like Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema, and Kevin De Bruyne are no longer as vital or as exceptional as they used to be. There is a new crop of stars in world football, and some of them are still trying to learn the ropes or make a name for themselves at the end of games. But a few others are already showing that they can change the complexion of games in an instant when it matters most. Here are the 10 most clutch footballers in the world today in 2026, ranked all the way from 10th to 1st. 10. Borussia Dortmund CF Maximilian Beier Maximilian Beier kicks off the list as the most surprising name on it, but the Borussia Dortmund center forward has...

Ranking the 10 best Premier League center backs in 2026

11Feb

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 10 best Premier League center backs in 2026

Most people agree that the Premier League has ascended all the other leagues in European football with the most money, production value, drama, and individual quality than the rest. Where the Premier League's difference in quality truly shines out the most than at any other position is at center back, where clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal have an embarrassment of riches at the position - and that is not even including all the great underrated defenders at smaller clubs beyond the Big Six. As 2026 continues, let's take a look at the 10 finest center backs in the Premier League right now, ranking them in order. 10. Marcos Senesi, Bournemouth Set to be one of the hottest free agent center backs on the summer 2026 transfer market, Marcos Senesi h...

Ranking the 15 best goalkeepers in world football in 2026

25Jan

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ranking the 15 best goalkeepers in world football in 2026

You would think the goalkeeper position would be the easiest to evaluate on the football pitch, because, well, goalkeepers are more stationary than other players and can be largely evaluated on how successful they are at stopping the other team from scoring. But it isn't really that simple. Although goalkeepers are primarily asked to make saves, ask any Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur fan how much having a goalkeeper who does not command the box well or makes basic errors in possession can totally destroy your team's sense of stability. There is also the matter of reputation. Many goalkeepers can skate by on a reputation built up over the years of greatness, whereas some younger goalkeepers find it more difficult to gain a foothold for this reason. Finally, there is the mat...

Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Real Madrid trounce Barcelona in El Clasico

28Oct

By Joe SorianoNo Comments

Rankings

Ballon d’Or Power Rankings after Real Madrid trounce Barcelona in El Clasico

Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe were the heroes again, as Real Madrid got their revenge on Barcelona for four straight Clasico defeats in 2024/25 to remain top dogs in the 2025/26 La Liga table with a 2-1 win over the Blaugrana. Here are the latest Ballon d'Or power rankings after the narrative-turning El Clasico. 5. Manchester City ST Erling Haaland Erling Haaland has been the biggest star in the Premier League again this season, and you really have to wonder where Manchester City would be at this point in the campaign and in the table without the Norwegian sensation bagging 11 goals in 9 games. 4. Barcelona RW Lamine Yamal While Lamine Yamal was a bit disappointing in El Clasico, we are still talking about the most electrifying winger in the world with a whopping five dribbles c...