The NFL's Most Valuable Player award will very likely come down to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Even if you agree that they were the two most valuable players in the league this season -- spoiler alert, I do not! -- there are several interesting questions beyond those two. While the NFL's MVP almost has to be a quarterback,
The Athletic lists Cowan's attributes as average skating, above-average puck skills, an average hockey sense, and high-end compete. The latter is patently evident every night when watching Cowan hit the ice. All of the attributes listed seem fair. Cowan has yet to fully develop into the star we know he could become. That's why listing him in the ranking's tier 7 group is unjustified.
The best strikers in the world are the most valuable people in the game. The most difficult thing in football is to score goals so naturally, the best players in the world are going to be the ones who find the net more than your average guy. The transfer market would certainly agree and of course, being a striker isn't just about finishing anymore: you also have to hold up, link play, press, run the channels and bully defenceswhich makes judging the position particularly tough
The best right-wingers in the world might be the most difficult task of any position on the pitch. Historically, a certain Argentine has been king of lists ranking the best players in the world, but as Lionel Messi winds down, there are certainly plenty of stars waiting to assume his crown, with the top half-dozen sides in the world each having an elite star in that position.
Football revolves around the best central midfielders in the world, with the engine room still what decides games at the highest level. In 2025, many of the best players in the world right now are all-action centre-mids, with nine-figure fees splashed out in recent years on box-to-box ballers and controllers in the middle of the park. And in an era of increased physicality and supreme technical level, you have to be a well-rounded no.8 to survive at the top
The best left-backs in the world hasn't always been a pool of elite talent. In the olden days, you didn't even have to be left-footed: full-backs have long been mocked for being the worst players in any XI, yet that all changed with the likes of Roberto Carlos and Ashley Cole, ushering in an era of dynamic, exciting left-backs capable of offering creativity and stability. They're just as valuable a member of anyone else and these days,
The best goalkeepers in the world used to be easy to sort but the position has evolved so much in the last decade or so. Once the madmen and mavericks of your club, the position has become sanitised in the modern game: goalkeepers are no longer quite so different to outfielders, since they have to build from the back and rush out to help a high line like a traditional sweeper used to decades ago. It makes lists like these difficult
To begin the ranking, Raphinha did not hesitate long before naming Neymar as his number one choice. Rather than building up from the bottom like most countdowns do, he went straight to the top, explaining his decision with a moment of reflection. That leads to the second name on his list, who was Ronaldinho. Raphinha's choice here is particularly striking, as Ronaldinho is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers football has ever seen. At the start of the 21st century, he transformed Barcelona both on and off the pitch, bringing joy, creativity, and global attention back to Camp Nou. Yet, in Raphinha's eyes, Neymar edges him out for the top spot.
Randle is off to a fantastic start, averaging 25.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 6.2 APG through 11 games, while also shooting high percentages and pilfering more than a steal per game. Perhaps he won't/can't keep it up to this level, but I have thought Randle became a bit underrated in fantasy in his latter New York Knicks seasons. He didn't only score and rebound, but he tallied assists we covet from a forward, though those were somewhat mitigated by high turnover totals.
The list of truly great, transcendent, gold jacket-destined NFL players is short. But the list of really good current players is rather long, and sometimes because of age or circumstance, the lines between great and good are blurred for legends on the decline. That's why the 2025 NFL Rank project celebrating the league's top 100 players has a healthy batch of snubs.
The 2024-25 ESPN FC 100 reflects significant changes in club affiliations, highlighting a trend where several top players, such as Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong, transitioned to Liverpool.
