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Who Is The Third Best Footballer In The World?
Besides Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who is the best player in the world? There is often a discussion on this topic. There are many players on different courses of time who deserve to be called the third-best player of all time. Some of the players who have been in the conversation are Zidane, Modric, Iniesta, Ronaldo (R9), Xavi, Kroos, Casillas, etc. Alongside these elite footballers, Neymar Jr is also covering the debate. So, these are the players who come into the debate on who is the third-best footballer in the world.
Is Neymar All Time Third Best Footballer?
Basically, different people have different perspectives on classifying the players. If we keep an eye on both the individual and collective achievements, the above-mentioned players have achieved so far more than Neymar. Zinedine Zidane, Modric, and R9 are Ballon d’Or winners. Similarly, Xavi, Iniesta, and Casillas are multiple title winners for Spain. Moreover, if we talk about Zidane, then he used to control the whole tempo of the game and was undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation.
So, let’s have detailed stats and achievements of these players in the debate.
Ronaldo Nazario (R9)
The Brazilian legend is often regarded as one of the best players to grace the pitch. So, it’s obvious that he comes into a discussion on the third-best footballer debate. The two times world cup winner played for two of the rival teams. Ronaldo played for Real Madrid and Barcelona both. Likewise, he also played for AC Milan and Inter Milan. So, here are the detailed stats of Ronaldo Nazario.
- 3x Best FIFA Men’s Player
- 2x Ballon d’Or
- 1x World Cup Golden Ball
- 1x UEFA Best Player In Europe
- 2x FIFA World Cup
- 2x Copa America
Zinedine Zidane
Often remembered for the headbutt against Marco Materazzi, Zinedine Zidane was the best midfielder of his generation. Regardless of the red card he got in the world cup final, it didn’t prevent him from receiving the world cup golden ball. Moreover, he is a Ballon d’Or, FIFA Best, and Euro Cup winner. Likewise, he is also a world cup winner as France lifted it in 1998.
- 3x Best FIFA Men’s Player
- 1x Ballon d’Or
- 1 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball
- 1x UEFA Best Player In Europa
- 1x FIFA World Cup
- 1 Euro Cup
- 1x Champions League
Article – (Third Best Footballer Of All Time)
Andre Iniesta
Iniesta, the hero of the world cup final 2010. Iniesta wrote his name on the legacy book of Spanish football after he silenced the millions of Dutch fans scoring in Johannesburg. In addition to the world cup he won, he is also a two times Euro champion with Spanish. Likewise, he is four times champions league winner. And, this silverware and proficiency in midfield invite him into the debate of “third-best footballer in the world.”
- 1x UEFA Best Player In Europe
- 1x World Cup
- 2x Euro Cup
- 4x Champions League
- 37x Titles and Trophies
Luka Modric
The 2018 world cup finalist, world cup golden ball winner, Ballon d’Or winner, and FIFA Best winner has a career to remember. Moreover, he also won UEFA best player in Europe, the champions league. In fact, Modric added all these awards and titles in the same year i.e. 2018. Emphatically, we can say Modric completed his individual bareness in 2018. Summing up, Modric can be drawn in the same poll as Zinedine Zidane and Andre Iniesta.
- 1x Best FIFA Men’s Player
- 5x Champions League
- 1 UEFA Best Player In Europe
- 1 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball
- 1x Ballon d’Or
- 27x Titles And Trophies
So, these were some of the individual and collective stats and achievements of the players in the debate.
Neymar Jr
Besides these players, if we see Neymar’s individual awards and titles we can get this data.
- 0x Best FIFA/ UEFA Best
- 0 Ballon d’Or
- 0x FIFA World Cup Golden Ball
- 0x FIFA World Cup and Copa America
- 1 Champions League
- 26x Titles And Trophies
- 370 Goals
In brief, it is clear that Neymar has a lot to achieve in comparison to the above-mentioned players. However, he is still categorized as one of the best players and often considered the third-best footballer of all time.
But, Neymar had a fantastic career when he was at FC Barcelona. Going back to 2015, Neymar was the joint top scorer in the UEFA champions league. Furthermore, he was supposed to carry the legacy of Lionel Messi in Barca. Later, in 2017, French club Paris Saint Germain signed him with a record-breaking transfer fee of €222m.
Lastly, Neymar has been injured so frequently.
Footballers Facts
Messi At 24 vs Cristiano Ronaldo At 24
Players will rarely score hattrick or score in the champions league when they are 24. Its a dream for the footballers to become a starter for the club at the age of 24. But, when it comes to Lionel Messi, he was three times balon d’Or winner at the age of 24. Messi won his first balon d’Or in 2009 when he was 22 years old. Then he went on winning more three. Meanwhile, Messi has won total of 6 balon d’Ors. He won them in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019. And, he is about to win it seven times. If we compare other players and Messi at 24 years of their age, Messi is far away from rest of the world.
He won it four in a row from 2009 to 2012. Absolute domination in the world football for half of the decade. Even his rival Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere near Messi. The 24 years old Messi was something else. So, lets not compare the new comers who gets hype from one or two good games. Messi was an absolute genius and was something else. Its almost difficult for the new players to get balon d’Or for straight four years. It was Messi who outcast players like Xavi, Iniesta, Snyjder, and Cristiano.
Messi At 24 vs Cristiano Ronaldo At 24
Moreover, if we talk about Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance at 24 years of his age, we can’t find good stats. Cristiano Ronaldo had just won one champions league and one balon d’Or at that age. Meanwhile, Messi was already three champions league winner and 3 times balon d’Or winner at 24. Moreover, Messi had won the treble in 2009 with Barcelona. They won the champions league defeating Ronaldo’s Manchester United in final. Then, Messi scored a magnificent header against Edwin Van Der Sar.
| Messi At 24 | Ronaldo At 24 |
| 3x Champions League | 1x Champions League |
| 3x Balon d’Or | One Balon d’Or |
| 1x European Golden Shoe | 1x European Golden Shoe |
So, if the closest rival of Messi was that behind Messi at 24 years of age, then who else could have come near the Argentine ?But, it doesn’t mean that Cristiano finished his career with these limited awards and titles. Later, after joining Real Madrid, Ronaldo played the best seasons of his career. He broke and created number of records in the Spanish capital. So, lets have a look at Ronaldo’s records and titles. Cristiano is 5x times balon d’Or winner and 5x times champions league winner. Moreover, he is 4x times European golden shoe winner. Also, he is the top scorer and most assist provider in the champions league. Moreover, he is a Euro Cup winner and 4x times FIFA club world cup winner. Anyways, Cristiano Ronaldo has won 34 titles.
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