#1 – Lionel Messi

Messi is considered one of the best football players of his generation and frequently cited as the world’s best contemporary player, Messi received several Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21 and won both by the age of 22. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his “successor”.

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell’s Old Boys youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke his team record for the youngest footballer to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi’s debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in the 2006–07 season; he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign. In the following 2009–10 campaign, Messi scored 47 goals in all competitions, equalling Ronaldo’s record total for Barcelona. Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina’s senior international team.

#2 – Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo currently holds the distinction of being the most expensive player in football history after being transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, makes him the highest paid football player in the world.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, then moved to Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting CP. Ronaldo’s precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and he signed the 18-year-old for £12.24 million in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup, and reached the Euro 2004 final with Portugal, in which tournament he scored his first international goal.

In 2008, Ronaldo won the Champions League with United, and was named player of the tournament. He was named the FIFPro World Player of the Year and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United’s first Ballon d’Or winner in 40 years. Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, “Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United.

#3 – Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A while having a striking partnership with David Trézéguet. In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Oscar del Calcio, the Guldbollen, and being named in the 2007 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league’s highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to FC Barcelona before moving to AC Milan the next season.

As of February 2009, Ibrahimović and Kaká were the highest-paid football players in the world, each with an annual salary of €9 million. He currently holds the record for the second highest transfer fee in football history, with a total of €69 million for his transfer from Internazionale to Barcelona.
#4 – Steven Gerrard

Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in the 2000–01 season, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cup wins, two League Cup wins, a UEFA Cup win, and a UEFA Champions League win in 2005. In 2005, Gerrard came third in the voting for Ballon d’Or, given to the top player in Europe.

Gerrard made his international début in 2000, and represented England in the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004 as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where he was the team’s top goalscorer with two goals. Gerrard is the current vice-captain of the England national football team. However, he captained his country at the 2010 World Cup in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand who missed the tournament through injury. Gerrard came second in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a Liverpool F.C. fan poll.

#5 – Samuel Eto’o

Eto’o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with FC Barcelona, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in La Liga. In 2010, he became the first player to win two European Continental Trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Internazionale. He is the second player to have ever scored in two separate UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Gerard Piqué, to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams. He is also, as of 22 May 2010, the most decorated African player of all time. Along with Clarence Seedorf  he is one of only two players to win the UEFA Champions League with three separate teams, with Real Madrid in 2000 (though only playing three games), twice with FC Barcelona in 2006 and 2009 and once with Internazionale in 2010. He is also the first ever player to win two trebles back to back.

#6 - KAKA

Kaka is a Brazilian football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. He started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he chose to focus on football.

In 2003 he joined A.C. Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with AC Milan, Kaka joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of $89 million, smashing the previous record of Zidane, $75 million.

#7 – Xavi Hernandez

Xavi Hernandez currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest play-makers in the world, Xavi was named the official Man of the match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their third Champions League-title. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008  and was one of the five finalists for the 2007–08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped 95 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is regularly cited as one of the best midfielders currently playing.

#8 – Andres Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta is a Spanish football midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona. His willingness to play anywhere on the pitch, coupled with a natural humility, has earned him the sobriquet El Ilusionista (The Dreamer), El Cerebro (The Brain), El Caballero Pálido (The Pale Knight) and most recently Don Andrés from the Spanish press.  After the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney stated that he believed the midfielder to be the best player in the world.  His current contract with Barcelona runs until 2015. Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain in the 116th minute of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final against the Netherlands and was the Man of the Match for the game.

#9 – Frank Lampard

Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father’s former club. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.

From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time, and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League’s Player of the decade by official statistics.In the 2009-10 season Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) also he had his best prolific season with Chelsea scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.
Lampard has won the Chelsea Player of the Year award three times and is Chelsea’s 3rd all-time goalscorer with 158 goals in all competitions, including over 100 league goals, the most in the club’s history for a midfielder. Lampard is the highest goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history with 129 league goals  and he’s 2nd in the Premier League’s all-time assists table with 156 assists. Also Lampard completes over 1400 successful passes and has 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was voted second place in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d’Or.

#10 – Fernando Torres

Torres started his career with Atlético Madrid, progressing through their youth system. He made his first team debut in 2001 and finished his career with the club having scored 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances. Prior to his La Liga debut, Torres played two seasons in the Segunda División, making 40 appearances and scoring seven goals. He joined Premier League club Liverpool in 2007 after signing for a club record transfer fee. He marked his first season at Anfield by being Liverpool’s first player, since Robbie Fowler in 1995–96, to score more than 20 league goals in a season. Torres became the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals after scoring against Aston Villa in December 2009.