Erling Haaland, the prolific Manchester City and Norway forward, was crowned the best football player of 2023 by FourFourTwo. The accolade, published on the magazine’s website, reflects a year dominated by Haaland’s remarkable goal-scoring run and impact across top competitions. He clinched the year-end honor after delivering consistent, game-changing performances that solidified his status as one of the sport’s standout talents. The recognition comes from a reputable UK publication that routinely surveys players across leagues to assemble a definitive global ranking for the year.
In their comprehensive list of the world’s 100 best players for 2023, Haaland claimed first place. Inter Miami and Spain’s Sergi Busquets was positioned just behind, underscoring the mix of European powerhouses and emerging talents vying for the top spots. The ranking paints a picture of a year when midfield maestros and forwards alike shaped outcomes for their clubs and national teams, with Haaland’s early-season dominance setting the tempo for the entire list.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo, the veteran forward who has long been a fixture in football’s upper echelon, did not feature in the top 100, highlighting the ongoing evolution of the sport and the rise of new faces who pushed into the higher echelons of the sport’s global hierarchy. The absence of Ronaldo from the 2023 top 100 serves as a talking point about how time, form, and team context influence career-long legacies in contemporary football.
Within the top 10, Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid captured second place, while Harry Kane of Bayern Munich secured third. Kylian Mbappe, representing Paris Saint-Germain, was fourth, followed by Rodri of Manchester City in fifth. Lionel Messi, who was with Inter Milan at the time, ranked sixth. The list continued with Bernardo Silva of Manchester City in seventh, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool in eighth, Antoine Griezmann of Atlético Madrid in ninth, and Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid rounding out the top ten. These positions illustrate the mix of young phenoms and established stars who defined a season marked by high-profile battles across domestic leagues and Europe’s top competitions.
The top 30 also highlighted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian midfielder widely known for his spell with Napoli. His presence in the upper tier of the list signaled the arrival of a new generation capable of influencing big games and attracting interest from clubs across Europe. Earlier in the year, Kvaratskhelia had attracted attention for his Development at Napoli after earlier stints with Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan, underscoring how players can rise through smaller leagues to claim global recognition.
Separately, Goal.com had previously named the best football player of 2023, contributing to the broader conversation about who should be celebrated for the year across different outlets. The overlap and divergence between publications illustrate the subjective nature of football awards, even when they share common data points such as goals, assists, and impact on team success. Fans often compare rankings from multiple sources to form their own view of who stood out in 2023 and why.