Four Four Two magazine have come out with their annual top 100 footballers in the world. The full table is as follows:
| Position | Player | Nationality | Club | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =99 | Iker Casillas | Spain | Real Madrid | Spain |
| =99 | Diego López | Spain | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 98 | Jackson Martínez | Colombia | FC Porto | Portugal |
| 97 | Olivier Giroud | France | Arsenal | England |
| 96 | Adem Ljajić | Serbia | Fiorentina | Italy |
| 95 | Burak Yılmaz | Turkey | Galatasaray | Turkey |
| 94 | Łukasz Piszczek | Poland | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 93 | Raphaël Varane | France | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 92 | Branislav Ivanović | Serbia | Chelsea | England |
| 91 | Mario Gómez | Germany | Fiorentina | Italy |
| 90 | Roberto Soldado | Spain | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
| 89 | Jesús Navas | Spain | Manchester City | England |
| 88 | Ramires | Brazil | Chelsea | England |
| 87 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 86 | Nemanja Vidić | Serbia | Manchester United | England |
| 85 | Mathieu Valbuena | France | Olympique Marseille | France |
| 84 | Stevan Jovetić | Montenegro | Manchester City | England |
| 83 | Stefan Kießling | Germany | Bayer Leverkusen | Germany |
| 82 | Jakub Błaszczykowski | Poland | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 81 | Andrea Barzagli | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 80 | Hugo Lloris | France | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
| 79 | Diego Costa | Brazil | Atlético Madrid | Spain |
| 78 | Samir Handanović | Slovenia | Internazionale | Italy |
| 77 | Leighton Baines | England | Everton | England |
| 76 | David Villa | Spain | Atlético Madrid | Spain |
| 75 | Álvaro Negredo | Spain | Manchester City | England |
| 74 | Michael Carrick | England | Manchester United | England |
| 73 | Mario Mandžukić | Croatia | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 72 | Jan Vertonghen | Belgium | Tottenham Hotspur | England |
| 71 | Daniele De Rossi | Italy | AS Roma | Italy |
| 70 | Blaise Matuidi | France | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| 69 | Víctor Valdés | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 68 | Mats Hummels | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 67 | Claudio Marchisio | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 66 | Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Armenia | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 65 | Arda Turan | Turkey | Atlético Madrid | Spain |
| 64 | Paul Pogba | France | Juventus | Italy |
| 63 | Marcelo | Brazil | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 62 | Francesco Totti | Italy | AS Roma | Italy |
| 61 | João Moutinho | Portugal | AS Monaco | France |
| 60 | Luka Modrić | Croatia | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 59 | Giorgio Chiellini | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 58 | Leonardo Bonucci | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 57 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 56 | Marek Hamšík | Slovakia | Napoli | Italy |
| 55 | Jordi Alba | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 54 | Eden Hazard | Belgium | Chelsea | England |
| 53 | Gerard Piqué | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 52 | Carlos Tévez | Argentina | Juventus | Italy |
| 51 | Mario Balotelli | Italy | AC Milan | Italy |
| 50 | Thibaut Courtois | Belgium | Atlético Madrid | Spain |
| 49 | Xabi Alonso | Spain | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 48 | Oscar | Brazil | Chelsea | England |
| 47 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 46 | Ashley Cole | England | Chelsea | England |
| 45 | Santi Cazorla | Spain | Arsenal | England |
| 44 | David Alaba | Austria | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 43 | Ángel di María | Argentina | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 42 | Daniel Alves | Brazil | Barcelona | Spain |
| 41 | Antonio Di Natale | Italy | Udinese | Italy |
| 40 | Mario Götze | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 39 | İlkay Gündoğan | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 38 | Toni Kroos | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 37 | David Silva | Spain | Manchester City | England |
| 36 | Andrea Pirlo | Italy | Juventus | Italy |
| 35 | Sergio Ramos | Spain | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 34 | Arjen Robben | Netherlands | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 33 | Arturo Vidal | Chile | Juventus | Italy |
| 32 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Argentina | Napoli | Italy |
| 31 | Javi Martínez | Spain | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 30 | Vincent Kompany | Belgium | Manchester City | England |
| 29 | Pedro | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 28 | Manuel Neuer | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 27 | Isco | Spain | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 26 | Thomas Müller | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 25 | Juan Mata | Spain | Chelsea | England |
| 24 | Dante | Brazil | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 23 | Wayne Rooney | England | Manchester United | England |
| 22 | Marco Reus | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 21 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 20 | Sergio Agüero | Argentina | Manchester City | England |
| 19 | Luis Suárez | Uruguay | Liverpool | England |
| 18 | Neymar | Brazil | Barcelona | Spain |
| 17 | Yaya Touré | Ivory Coast | Manchester City | England |
| 16 | Mesut Özil | Germany | Arsenal | England |
| 15 | Cesc Fàbregas | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 14 | Edinson Cavani | Uruguay | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| 13 | Xavi | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 12 | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 11 | Sergio Busquets | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 10 | Thiago Silva | Brazil | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| 9 | Robin van Persie | Netherlands | Manchester United | England |
| 8 | Gareth Bale | Wales | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 7 | Philipp Lahm | Germany | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 6 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Sweden | Paris Saint-Germain | France |
| 5 | Andrés Iniesta | Spain | Barcelona | Spain |
| 4 | Radamel Falcao | Colombia | AS Monaco | France |
| 3 | Franck Ribéry | France | Bayern Munich | Germany |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona | Spain |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid | Spain |
A few numbers from this:
2 – There are 2 African players on the list
4 – There are only four English players amongst the 100 (Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Michael Carrick & Leighton Baines)
7 – Manchester City provide more players than any other Premier League side
12 – Bayern Munich and Real Madrid provide the most players
18 – There are 18 South American players on the list, from 5 different countries
21 – There are more Spanish players in the list than any other nationality
24 – There are 24 players from the Premier League (Thibaut Courtois is listed at Atlético Madrid)
27 – Spain’s La Liga provides the most players in the list
80 – There are 80 European players from 19 different countries
100 – All 100 players are plying their trade in Europe
Declines
1 – The Dutch Eredivisie lost their sole player in the list from 2012 (Ajax’s Christian Eriksen)
2 – Lazio had two players in the list last year but none this time around
3 – Brazil’s Serie A and Russia’s Premier League each had 3 players in the list last year but none in 2013
6 – Cameroon, Denmark, Ghana, Japan, Mexico and Russia all had a player each in the list in 2012 but none 12 months month later
11 – By losing 1 player in the top 100, Barcelona have dropped from the top club to the third in 2012
87 – Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has dropped the furthest since ranking #12 in 2012 to =99 in 2013
By nationality
By league
