The (to be) best players of 2020s

Rayan Cherki will be the best player of the coming decade.
He is hailed as the most talented player ever seen in the French football system, already looks 10 classes above every other player in Youth League despite being just 16 year and 1 month old and also crushes it against adults for Lyon's reserve.

Zidane and Cantona personally tried to make him sign for Real/United, Abidal spoke to Aulas about him, every club wanted him.

He's got Neymar's level of talent but happens to be far superior to Neymar athletically, his balance is insane, he's a mix of Neymar's skillfullness and Hazard's strength.

 

Is that suppose to be impressive?

 

Hazard is known for being able to hold off much bigger player and resisting challenges so yes.
What I meant is he's not a frail player like Neymar who can't take any physical contact without going down

 

Both Neymar and Hazard are very reliant on their balance and agility, not body strength. Neymar is perfectly capable of staying on his feet, physically, he simply decides not to.

Think of someone like Drogba. He could brush off 2-3 defenders like a hero in an action movie, or drop like he was shot by a bullet by the slightest touch.

 

Above Wan-Bissaka, if nothing else.

Wan-Bissaka is only a year younger, and only had one full season under his belt.

Tierney has been first choice LB since 2015-16. I don't see why you need to see him make a debut for Arsenal before you make a call. Is one season of Palace worth more than 4 at Celtic? Tierney already has 41 European games under his belt!

Unlike Wan-Bissaka, Tierney has already proven himself as a two-way player. Wan-Bissaka has only imrpessed defensively, but not yet offensively.

These are his individual awards:
Individual

• PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 2015–16,[15] 2016–17,[22] 2017–18[47]
• SFWA Young Player of the Year: 2015–16,[16] 2016–17,[48] 2017–18[49]
• Celtic Young Player of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17,[50] 2017–18[51]
• SFSA Supporters' Player of the Year: 2017[52]
• PFA Scotland Team of the Year (Premiership): 2015–16,[53] 2016–17[54] 2017–18[47]

 

But even on paper, I still don't understand why you think a player who has never been awarded any kind of league-level award can be included in your top-10 list while the guy who has been voted in 3 times, has captained his side at such a young age, and has actual substantial European football experience, isn't.

Bellerin, who is now an arguably less promising talent than Tierney, since injury has stalled his development, has done more to earn a spot in the top 10 than Wan Bissaka.

What puts someone like Wan Bissaka over a Hakimi, or Ryan Sessegnon, or Youcef Atal, or Junior Firpo?

All the other names on the list has had multiple seasons of first team football. Wan-Bissaka sticks out because he has only had one, and I don't think his talent is so obvious that we can be so sure he belongs in the top-10 prospect list after just one season.

 

Rafael Leao can be a big star .

 

Best players 2020-2025.

A lot can, and will change, but not that drastically IMO.
Most of the current top players still have 4-6 seasons in them.

1. Lio Messi (De Jong, Arthur, Dembele, Grizou, Fati possibly and full back runners such as Semedo and Firpo look like they could unleash an even higher level of playmaking from Messi. I don't see him "relinquishing" the throne just yet)

2. Neymar Jr. (Even when he's missing a lot of games it's still so hard to ignore him. His ceiling is ridiculously high and at some point it will all come together. He has also started this season reasonably well being decisive in every match he has played)

3. Kylian Mbappe (His physical qualities, his intelligence and his drive to be the best. He's in "super teams" both for club and country and even if he changes club it will be for another elite side. Everything points towards him being overall the best player of the next decade IMO)

4. Kevin de Bruyne (One of the best two passers in world football right now, possibly the best midfielder. Playing in a top club with the perfect structure to get the best out of him. I think he is now bang in his prime and probably this carries on for a few more years)

5. Bernardo Silva (Has the technique, has the workrate, has the desire to reach the very top, also entering his prime and playing for a very good City side)

6. Frenkie de Jong (He is just too complete. I feel Arthur has shown more this season but still I feel De Jong has that little extra. A better manager would do wonders for the Barca contingent and eventually it will come down to that anyway)

7. Virgil van Dijk (He'll be 29 entering that time period and in a very good Liverpool and re-emerging Dutch side. He's the leader for both teams too regardless of who wears the armband. I can see him performing at near his current level for quite a while, he is not injury prone like Chiellini)

8. Raheem Sterling (He'll be 25 by then and there's no reason why he slows down. I feel he is underrated in some quarters, yet he is one of the most improved footballers in the world. He is also performing well for a good England side and he has grown so much under Pep that I feel there is no looking back for him now)

9. Matthijs de Ligt (Watched every minute he has played in a Juve shirt and the kid is growing every minute, he is completely unfazed by the criticism and doesn't get discouraged for long after a bad performance. He will be a beast)

10. Joao Felix (So much talent, but I'm not sure Simeoneball is the right fit for him. He has a bit of everything though and there's some valuable things he will learn under Simeone of course. Expect him to be near the top of the list as the decade progresses.)

Honourable mentions:
- Hazard: Talent is clearly there, but maybe he joined Real Madrid at the wrong time right at the end of a great cycle and the next cycle not looking all that promising. I expect he'll figure it out though.
- Jadon Sancho: Whenever he gets the ball, I feel like he is about to assist or just cause some disruption to the opposition.
- Gnabry: Not just for his demolition of Spurs, he has been threatening throughout last season despite Bayern's season being relatively underwhelming.
Salah, Sadio Mane, Dybala, Pjanic, Coutinho, Rodri, Kane, Odegaard, Havertz, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kimmich, Tonali I predict will be getting mentions when we revisit this thread in 2025.

 

I don't think we can mention Kane without mentioning Eriksen. It is not clear to me at all that Kane is the better player. Eriksen is only 27. In an elite team, he could actually compete for the best midfielder in the world (although it is hard to imagine anyone better than KDB right now).

You're also missing a goalkeeper. One of Oblak, Alisson, Stergen, Ederson, Neuer, and even De Gea (although Man Utd need to become a UCL regular for him) can reach legendary level in the next 5 years.

Definitely needs a new manager though. Barcelona has looked unimpressive to me this season. Not sure Messi can carry that to a UCL.

Is there really that much separating Sterling from Sane? Sane is only 27 years old as well.

 

I am more convinced by Sancho than Sterling, but yes the latter is at the sweet spot right now. Sancho just the all-around more potent player, with the exception of work rate perhaps. Sancho will be a better fit in Spain than England imho.

 

Fair points. I just think Eriksen has been performing poorly for quite a while now. The big miss from the Spurs group is possibly Son who I think is even better than both.
RE: Messi - he has been performing under 'poor' managers since Pep. I never rated Enrique that high to be honest and he possibly even underperformed with Barca, strange as that may sound considering he won a treble. Sooner or later, hopefully, sooner for the sake of Messi, De Jong, Arthur, Griezmann, Valverde will leave.

I guess you meant Mane rather than Sane? I still rate Sterling higher tbh. More consistent G+A compared to Mane. But I have no problem rating Mane equal or even higher.

 

I agree with Sancho > Sterling for all-around ability. But I think Sterling's goalscoring will always make him perceived as the more influential player and his ratings on sites like Whoscored also show he does a lot more than just that.
Also, Sancho is linked with a move to Man United too much and if that were to happen I really don't know how close he gets to fulfilling the potential he is showing right now.

 

Cronaldo will remain the best player as long as he plays. Cronaldo will play in 2020s and no one can be as good as him ever