The latest football management simulation game from Sports Interactive, Football Manager 2021, has revealed the top 50 players in the world.
Following the previous piece from Mirror Football that revealed the top wonderkids in FM21, this list will finally settle all the debates about which players are truly world class, or the best in the world (probably).
As expected, FM21 ranks Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin De Bruyne among the highest-rated players in world football.
The Football Manager database currently contains data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs, with data sourced from their international on the ground scouting network which numbers roughly 1,000 people, among their ranks are some who are involved in football in professional capacities, including scouts and coaches.
In addition, each annual iteration of Football Manager has built-in algorithms which check for outliers and data discrepancies.
Data accuracy is further ensured by input from contributors who are active within the professional game (players, agents etc.) who provide regular feedback.
Using the FM21 database, we’ve put together a full, comprehensive list of the top 50 best players in the world.
The top 50 players in the world ranked by FM21
If you are new to the Football Manager series, each player in the FM database is given a value out of 200 for both Current Ability (how good they are now) and Potential Ability (how good they can become).
We have taken the top 50 players who have been given the highest Current Ability rating on FM21 and ranked them in order.
Ability rating on FM21 and ranked them in order.

- Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 195/200
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Zebre/Juventus) – Current Ability is 194/200
- Kevin De Bruyne (Man City) – Current Ability is 188/200
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 184/200
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – Current Ability is 182/200
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) – Current Ability is 181/200
- Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) – Current Ability is 181/200
- Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – Current Ability is 180/200
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – Current Ability is 180/200
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – Current Ability is 179/200
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 178/200
- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 178/200
- Sergio Aguero (Man City) – Current Ability is 178/200
- Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – Current Ability is 175/200
- Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) – Current Ability is 175/200
- Eden Hazard (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 175/200
- Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 175/200
- Marc-Andre ter Stegen (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 174/200
- Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 174/200
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 172/200
- Raheem Sterling (Man City) – Current Ability is 172/200
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 171/200
- Bernardo Silva (Man City) – Current Ability is 171/200
- David Alaba (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 171/200
- Aymeric Laporte (Man City) – Current Ability is 170/200
- Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 170/200
- Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid) – Current Ability is 170/200
- Paulo Dybala (Zebre/Juventus) – Current Ability is 170/200
- Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) – Current Ability is 169/200
- Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 169/200
- Gerard Pique (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 169/200
- Ederson (Man City) – Current Ability is 168/200
- David Silva (Real Sociedad) – Current Ability is 168/200
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 167/200
- Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) – Current Ability is 167/200
- Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – Current Ability is 167/200
- Romelu Lukaku (Inter) – Current Ability is 167/200
- Casemiro (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 166/200
- Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) – Current Ability is 165/200
- N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) – Current Ability is 165/200
- Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) – Current Ability is 165/200
- Wojciech Szczesny (Zebre/Juventus) – Current Ability is 165/200
- Philippe Coutinho (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 165/200
- Fernandino (Man City) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Miralem Pjanic (FC Barcelona) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) – Current Ability is 164/200
- Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) – Current Ability is 164/200
Football Manager 2021 is out now on PC, Mac and Mobile, with the Touch and Xbox Edition set for release on December 1.
This year, FM is different to anything that has gone before, as it features the impact of Covid-19, as players who start a new career mode save will experience later league start dates, a different transfer market and an impact on club finances.
From season two of your virtual save, the world should return to ‘normal’, or as close as possible.
It has also been confirmed that FM will return to the Xbox platform for the first time since 2007.