SP. The 11 best players wearing the no. 10 shirt in world football right now have been ranked

When Argentina went to the 1982 World Cup as defending champions, they adopted the same alphabetical numbering system which had served them so well four years earlier. Midfielder Ossie Ardiles wore number one while first-choice goalkeeper, Ubaldo Fillol, was stuck with seven. There was, however, an exception.

By the prevailing logic, Diego Maradona should have been left with the number 12. But as the undisputed star of the side, he would have the honour of wearing the number 10. Argentina were not alone in handing that particular digit to the team’s talisman. Almost since shirt numbers were first dreamed up in the 1930s, 10 has carried an unrivalled allure.

The rise of pressing and physical demands of the modern game has changed the requirements of a successful number 10. No longer can they saunter around the final third, shirt untucked and socks unfurled. But that doesn’t take away from the talent of the individuals fortunate enough to be draped in those iconic digits.

Ranking Factors

• Individual performance – Goals, assists, chances created and received.
• Team success – Taking into consideration the ambitions of the clubs and nations in question, players who have won honours will be ranked higher.
• Influence – The best number 10s pull the strings.
• Level – Quality of the domestic and international competitions in which each player competes.
• Recency – More emphasis is put on the latest accomplishments.

11 Xavi Simons

RB Leipzig

Xavi Simons’ stock is certainly higher than his father’s. Regillio Simons couldn’t avoid relegation after being thrust into FC Volendam’s managerial hot seat last season and was relieved of his duties in June. Simons Jr, by contrast, ended Euro 2024 on a personal high with the opening goal for the Netherlands in a semi-final which England eventually came back to win.

While the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United were interested in the Paris Saint-Germain playmaker this summer, Simons chose to extend his loan deal with RB Leipzig for another season. Many would agree with the club’s managing director for sport, Marcel Schafer, who hailed Xavi as “one of the best players in Europe” with “no limits”.

10 Marcus Rashford

Manchester United

When Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney came to a training session for Manchester United’s academy, Marcus Rashford distanced himself from the scrum of star-struck teens scrambling for a selfie. “I don’t need a picture,” Rashford would tell his brother. “I’m going to be playing alongside them some day.”

The confident kid made his United debut against FC Midtjylland in February 2016, thanks in part to Rooney’s absence through injury, and would later inherit his famed number 10 shirt. Rashford is more erratic when it comes to end product than his childhood hero, but has shown tentative signs of rediscovering his scoring touch this term after a disastrous 2023/24 campaign.

9 Jack Grealish

Manchester City

At Aston Villa, Jack Grealish was an archetypal number 10. The team’s undisputed technical leader had free rein to orchestrate the frontline under Dean Smith, who offered his captain a simple, but powerful instruction: “Go and do whatever you want. I trust you.”

Pep Guardiola has a slightly more hands-on approach. The maniacal micromanager will often bark where he wants the next pass to be played from the touchline and won’t hesitate to hook any player not adhering to his strict positional instructions. This has curbed Grealish’s natural game, but he remains a useful cog in Manchester City’s winning machine.

8 Ousmane Dembele

Paris Saint-Germain

Whisper it quietly, but Ousmane Dembele may have inadvertently stumbled upon some consistency. Much like his Paris Saint-Germain predecessor, Neymar, Dembele’s career in France (and beyond) has been defined by sporadic bursts of brilliance between long injury layoffs. But a clean bill of health has underpinned a prolific start to the season in a PSG side devoid of galaxy egos.

“Last year’s version of Dembele was very good and this year’s is better,” manager Luis Enrique grinned in September. “We’re working on making it better still.” Relieved from the burden of endlessly supplying Kylian Mbappe, Dembele has licence to tee up any teammate or take on the chance himself.

7 Rafael Leao

AC Milan

Rafael Leao took inspiration from an Italian legend when he chose the number 10 shirt in 2023. Rather than any of the revered figures who wore the digits in AC Milan‘s colours, the Portuguese forward bizarrely cited Juventus icon Alessandro Del Piero. It’s worth bearing in mind that this revelation came from Leao’s autobiography, which he released at the ripe old age of 24.

Whatever the reasoning, Leao has performed admirably in the number 10. Dovetailing to devastating effect with Milan’s unshackled left-back, Theo Hernandez, any vaguely attacking sequence is funnelled through the fleet-footed winger. There have been some teething issues with the incoming head coach, Paulo Fonseca, but even a clash of personalities can’t overshadow Leao’s abundant talent.

6 Nico Williams

Athletic Club

Nico Williams became just the fifth player to take on the burden of Athletic Club’s number 10 shirt this century when he inherited the digits from departing hero Iker Muniain in the summer. It was fitting that the first goal Williams scored in his new shirt was teed up by his personal hero and the club’s number nine – his older brother Inaki.

The jet-heeled winger has blossomed into one of La Liga’s best players in recent years and spearheaded Spain’s triumphant Euro 2024 campaign. A blur of chops, jinks and shimmies, the direct dribbler was pursued by most of Europe over the summer only to stay at his boyhood club. How could he leave after getting the number 10 shirt?

5 Alexis Mac Allister

Liverpool

The number 10 is typically the brain of the team. Few players have a higher footballing IQ than Alexis Mac Allister. Raised in a family of footballers, the Argentine has brothers, cousins and an uncle who all played the game professionally. Mac Allister Sr, Carlos Javier, even lined up alongside one of the greatest number 10s to ever wear the famous shirt, Diego Maradona, who became a close family friend.

Alexis greedily gobbled up the knowledge he has been afforded unfettered access to since birth. Typically an attacking midfielder – hence the shirt number – Mac Allister scarcely looked out of place after injuries and absences forced him into a deeper role after moving to Liverpool. The salve to all the team’s open wounds, no wonder Jurgen Klopp lauded him as “a football doctor”.

4 Lautaro Martinez

Inter Milan

Such are the daunting expectations that come with the number 10 shirt in Italy, Lautaro Martinez was forced to address his decision to wear those digits after joining Inter Milan in 2018. “Wearing the number 10 shirt doesn’t weigh down on me because I already wore it at Racing,” the Argentine shrugged. “It was free, and I’m very happy to be able to wear it.”

Sandro Mazzola, Lothar Matthaus, Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio, Clarence Seedorf… The list of Lautaro’s legendary predecessors in Inter’s number 10 would be daunting for most. But the prolific forward has thrived under the scrutiny, tacking on the added pressure of club captaincy while racking up more than 20 league goals in each of the last three seasons – a feat none of the aforementioned figures ever matched.

3 Lionel Messi

Inter Miami

When Lionel Messi joined Barcelona’s academy as a desperately shy teenager, no one understood one of the few words he dared to utter. When asked what position he played, Messi said: “Enganche.” This translates as ‘hook’ and is the Argentine word for the number 10 position, acting as the coupling link between midfield and the front line.

Two decades of unprecedented success later, arguably the greatest footballer of all time is still wearing the number 10. The MLS defenders bamboozled by his unrivalled array of flicks and feints may not be the best he’s ever come up against, but Messi proved during a triumphant Copa America that he can still mix it at the elite level. As the great man reflected: “My connection with the ball has always been the same.”

2 Luka Modric

Real Madrid

There is a lingering reverence for the number 10 shirt in the Balkans which rivals that of even Argentina. Robert Prosinecki and Zvonimir Boban fostered that idolisation in the 1990s before Luka Modric took on the mantle at the turn of the century. Even after entering his fourth decade, the wily conductor hasn’t put his baton down just yet.

The summer retirement of Toni Kroos – who is half a decade younger than his Croatian counterpart – left the burden of offering a calming experience at Real Madrid exclusively to Modric. Carlo Ancelotti is certainly comfortable with him. “Luka is always perfect,” the Italian gushed at the start of the season. “He’s a guarantee for me.”

1 Florian Wirtz

Bayer Leverkusen

Florian Wirtz is the perfect modern-day number 10. Behind the slick layer of effortless selflessness is a burning desire to scamper and scurry until his socks roll right off his shins. A player who seems to be constantly on the verge of falling over has no issue unbalancing the backline of any opponent.

The reigning Bundesliga Player of the Year – an award he won despite Harry Kane’s record-shattering debut campaign with Bayern Munich as the club’s new number nine – picked up right from where he left off last season at the epicentre of Xabi Alonso’s all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen. Wirtz marked his Champions League debut against Feyenoord in September with a first-half brace, proving that no stage is too big for the unerring 21-year-old.

Stats via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 25-09-24.