2025 FC 100: Yamal, Mbappe among best men's soccer players - ESPN

It's that time again: with the UEFA Champions League final behind us and the 2024-25 season officially over, it's time to rank the top 100 players in men's soccer right now. Welcome to the FC 100.

The FC 100 is different than most countdowns. It is not a Nos. 1-100 ranking. We take into account all the major positions on the pitch, while most rankers go talent-first with little regard for where the stars play. It leads to uninspiring lists that are heavily weighted toward goal scorers (forwards) and players who create goals from midfield, paying little attention to the talent in less glamorous — but equally important — roles.

Our rankings are divided into seven lists and give readers the closest thing to a position-by-position «depth chart» across world soccer. This year, reflective of the ever-changing game, we've split defenders into two groups (wide and central), with two sections for midfield (so more defensive guys get their due alongside the playmakers) and two for forward, with the wing and center-forward positions clearly defined.

Go to: Goalkeeper | Fullbacks | Center backs | Defensive/central midfielders | Attacking midfielders | Wingers | Center forwards

Go to: 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016

Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Jan Oblak have been in all nine editions of the ESPN FC 100, but who might not make it to the 10th?

This year's ballot had nearly 100 entries from all over the globe and from all areas of ESPN from writers to reporters, from editors to producers, from behind-the-scenes staff to on-air talent. Writers Gab Marcotti, Julien Laurens and Mark Ogden, and former players Don Hutchison, Nedum Onuoha and Alejandro Moreno were only some of the key voters in