When football fans are asked who are the best players in the world, typically they will debate whether Messi or Ronaldo take the #1 spot. Neymar and De Bruyne may not be far behind, but fans may also add one or two players that are special to them and are players that they idolize. For example, Barcelona fans will probably say that Messi is the best, but Juventus fans will say that Ronaldo is the best, or maybe Tottenham fans will say that Harry Kane is the best in the world. So fans' best 11's will all be different based on what teams they follow and what players they look up to. The goal is to determine a current best XI squad that is unbias but features as many of the best players as I can. In order to create this list, there are some key qualities that must be in play:
Value
Value is how much a player is worth. This changing number is based on how well a player is performing and how much they are being sold for when they are transferred. Usually, younger players are more valuable because they have many more years of playing and still have much more room for improvement. Attacking players are also more valuable because they are the ones scoring the goals. Here is a top 10 list of the most valuable football players in the world:
1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 200 million euros
2. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - 180 million euros
3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 160 million euros
4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 150 million euros
4. Harry Kane (Tottenham) - 150 million euros
4. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) - 150 million euros
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 150 million euros
4. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - 150 million euros
9. Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) - 120 million euros
9. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - 120 million euros
And if we were to take the most valuable players by position and put them in a starting XI, this would be the result:
GK: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) - 80 million euros
LB: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid) - 70 million euros
CB: Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) - 80 million euros
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - 75 million euros
RB: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - 60 million euros
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 150 million euros
CM: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea) - 100 million euros
CM: Dele Alli (Tottenham) - 100 million euros
LW: Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) - 180 million euros
ST: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 200 million euros
RW: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 160 million euros
Positional Stats
To decide who is the best, I can't judge every player based on how many goals they score or how many passes they completed. I can't say something like "Lionel Messi is better than Jan Oblak because Messi has more goals" because Oblak is a goalie; he's suppose to stop goals. Therefore, each position entails certain attributes that a player must have in order to play that position. In my opinion, these are the most important attributes for each position:
Goalkeeper: Number of Appearances, Saves, Goals Against, Fouls, Cards
Defense (LB, CB, RB): Number of Appearances, Tackles, Successful Tackles, Interceptions, Passes, Completed Passes, Clearances, Fouls, Cards
Midfielders (CDM, LM, CM, RM): Number of Appearances, Passes, Completed Passes, Key Passes, Assists, Dribbles, Successful Dribbles, Shots, Goals, Tackles, Successful Tackles, Clearances, Fouls, Cards
Forwards (CAM, LW, ST, RW): Number of Appearances, Shots, Goals, Dribbles, Successful Dribbles, Passes, Completed Passes, Key Passes, Assists, Fouls, Cards
Some stats can be debated, but for the most part, I believe that these are the important stats that affect the play of game.
Club/Country
A player's club and country can affect how good a player is. While a player can change their club and move up to the biggest teams, they rarely ever change their nationality (and if they do, its more of a personal matter rather than to play for a better team). Most teams and countries are given a ranking based on their form and how they are playing. As of March 19th after the last club games before the international break, these are the top ten teams in the world:
1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Barcelona
4. Bayern Munich
5. Paris Saint-Germain
6. Real Madrid
7. Juventus
8. Atletico Madrid
9. Chelsea
10. Ajax
As for country, these are the top ten international teams in the world:
1. Belgium
2. France
3. Brazil
4. Croatia
5. England
6. Portugal
7. Uruguay
8. Switzerland
9. Spain
10. Denmark
Again, a lot of these clubs and countries can be debated, but as of today and this season, these teams are fairing the best against the rest of the competition.
The Equations
With these important factors, I can create equations to test on each player to determine how good they are and who is the best of the best. Of the three factors, positional stats are the most important because this is evidence of how well they are performing. Since I am using a 4-3-3 formation, I will have a goalkeeper, left back, two center-backs, right back, CDM, CM, CAM, left wing, striker, and right wing. Now, I don't want to do the math for every football player, so I am going to do this process using the 10 most valuable players from each detailed position.
Goalkeeper Equation: (Value + Number of Appearances + Saves) - (Goals Against - Fouls - Cards (-3 for Yellow, -5 for Red) - Club Rank - Country Rank)
Top Ten Goalkeepers:
1. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona/Germany) - 152 points
2. Alisson (Liverpool/Brazil) - 151 points
3. David de Gea (Manchester United/Spain) - 145 points
4. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid/Belgium) - 119 points
5. Ederson (Manchester City/Brazil) - 115 points
6. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea/Spain) - 110 points
7. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia) - 94 points
8. Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan/Italy) - 71 points
9. Andre Onana (Ajax/Cameroon) - 62 points
10. Jordan Pickford (Everton/England) - 51 points
Defender Equation: Value + Number of Appearances + (Successful Tackles/(Unsuccessful Tackles +1)) + Interceptions + (Completed Passes/(Uncompleted Passes + 1)) + (Clearances/10) - Fouls - Cards (-3 for Yellow, -5 for Red) - Club Rank - Country Rank
Top Ten Center Backs:
1. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands) - 170 points
2. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/France) - 140 points
3. John Stones (Manchester City/England) - 111 points
4. Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax/Netherlands) - 108 points
5. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil) - 107 points
6. Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid/Uruguay) - 102 points
7. Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid/France) - 89 points
8. Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/France) - 89 points
9. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli/Senegal) - 66 points
10. Milan Skriniar (Inter Milan/Slovakia) - 34 points
Top Ten Left Backs:
1. Jordi Alba (Barcelona/Spain) - 119 points
2. David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Austria) - 87 points
3. Marcelo (Real Madrid/Brazil) - 61 points
4. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea/Spain) - 60 points
5. Alex Telles (Porto/Brazil) - 58 points
6. Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City/France) - 50 points
7. Alex Sandro (Juventus/Brazil) - 45 points
8. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool/Scotland) - 44 points
9. Ferland Mendy (Lyon/France) - 35 points
10. Jose Gaya (Valencia/Spain) - 25 points
Top Ten Right Backs:
1. Kyle Walker (Manchester City/England) - 98 points
2. Sergi Roberto (Barcelona/Spain) - 97 points
3. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool/England) - 94 points
4. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich/Germany) - 75 points
5. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea/Spain) - 75 points
6. Nelson Semedo (Barcelona/Portugal) - 66 points
7. Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain/Belgium) - 59 points
8. Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid/Spain) - 51 points
9. Joao Cancelo (Juventus/Portugal) - 48 points
10. Hector Bellerin (Arsenal/Spain) - 40 points
Midfielder Equation: (Value + Number of Appearances + (Successful Passes / (Unsuccessful Passes + 1)) + (Assists x 2) + (Goals x 3) + (Successful Dribbles / (Unsuccessful Dribbles - 1)) + Shots + (Successful Tackles / (Unsuccessful Tackles + 1) + (Clearances/10)) - (Fouls - Cards (-3 for Yellow, -5 for Red) - Club Rank - Country Rank)
Top Ten Center Defensive Midfielders:
1. Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Netherlands) - 125 points
2. Casemiro (Real Madrid/Brazil) - 94 points
3. Miralem Pjanic (Juventus/Bosnia & Herzegovina) - 68 points
4. Jorginho (Chelsea/Italy) - 61 points
5. Lucas Torreira (Arsenal/Uruguay) - 60 points
6. Rodrigo (Atletico Madrid/Spain) - 58 points
7. Sergio Busquets (Barcelona/Spain) - 54 points
8. Fabinho (Liverpool/Brazil) - 51 points
9. Granit Xhaka (Arsenal/Switzerland) - 34 points
10. Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid/Ghana) - 26 points
Top Ten Center Midfielders:
1. Paul Pogba (Manchester United/France) - 205 points
2. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/France) - 133 points
3. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany) - 122 points
4. Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid/Spain) - 116 points
5. Thiago (Bayern Munich/Spain) - 85 points
6. Arthur (Barcelona/Brazil) - 83 points
7. Koke (Atletico Madrid/Spain) - 75 points
8. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio/Serbia) - 61 points
9. Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/Italy) - 45 points
10. Naby Keita (Liverpool/Guinea) - 28 points
Top Ten Center Attacking Midfielders:
1. Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona/Brazil) - 219 points
2. Christian Eriksen (Tottenham/Denmark) - 194 points
3. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium) - 183 points
4. Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen/Germany) - 166 points
5. Dele Alli (Tottenham/England) - 140 points
6. Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund/Germany) - 139 points
7. James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich/Colombia) - 125 points
8. Isco (Real Madrid/Spain) - 93 points
9. Nabil Fekir (Lyon/France) - 91 points
10. Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma/Italy) - 22 points
Attacker Equation: (Value + Number of Appearances + (Successful Dribbles/(Unsuccessful Dribbles + 1)) + (Completed Passes/(Uncompleted Passes + 1)) + Shots + (Assists x 2) + (Goals x 3)) - (Fouls - Cards (-3 for Yellow, -5 for Red) - Club Rank - Country Rank)
Top Ten Left Wingers:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Portugal) - 381 points
2. Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil) - 311 points
3. Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium) - 300 points
4. Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli/Italy) - 240 points
5. Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona/France) - 225 points
6. Leroy Sane (Manchester City/Germany) - 225 points
7. Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Senegal) - 193 points
8. Marco Asensio (Real Madrid/Spain) - 145 points
9. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil) - 126 points
10. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham/Korea Republic) - 106 points
Top Ten Right Wingers:
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) - 380 points
2. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt) - 303 points
3. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City/England) - 259 points
4. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales) - 177 points
5. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund/England) - 172 points
6. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/Portugal) - 161 points
7. Florian Thauvin (Marseille/France) - 125 points
8. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City/Algeria) - 101 points
9. Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina/Italy) - 77 points
10. Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/United States) - 72 points
Top Ten Strikers and Center Forwards:
1. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain/France) - 430 points
2. Harry Kane (Tottenham/England) - 315 points
3. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France) - 312 points
4. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/Argentina) - 253 points
5. Paulo Dybala (Juventus/Argentina) - 202 points
6. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool/Brazil) - 200 points
7. Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan/Argentina) - 184 points
8. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United/England) - 174 points
9. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United/Belgium) - 168 points
10. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal/Gabon) - 166 points
So, with all this information, here is the Best XI I have built based value and statistics:
Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona/Germany) - 152 points
Left Back: Jordi Alba (Barcelona/Spain) - 119 points
Center Back: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands) - 170 points
Center Back: Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/France) - 140 points
Right Back: Kyle Walker (Manchester City/England) - 98 points
Center Defensive Midfield: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax/Netherlands) - 125 points
Center Midfield: Paul Pogba (Manchester United/France) - 205 points
Center Attacking Midfield: Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona/Brazil) - 219 points
Left Wing: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Portugal) - 381 points
Right Wing: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) - 380 points
Striker: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain/France) - 430 points
Substitute: Alisson (Liverpool/Brazil) - 151 points
Substitute: John Stones (Manchester City/England) - 111 points
Substitute: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona/Spain) - 97 points
Substitute: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/France) - 133 points
Substitute: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham/Denmark) - 194 points
Substitute: Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil) - 311 points
Substitute: Harry Kane (Tottenham/England) - 315 points
Sources:
transfermarkt.com
whoscored.com
fivethirtyeight.com
fifa.com
No comments:
Post a Comment