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Study Ranks The Best Teams In World Football

Study Ranks The Best Teams In World Football

Manchester City come out on top.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

If you're a Manchester United fan then you may want to look away now after a recent study from FiveThirtyEight revealed some shocking results.

Using their own algorithm, which will be explained later on, the website concludes that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are the best side in world football with an SPI rating of 94.4.

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich pick up the silver medal with an SPI rating of 93.5, while Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea make up the top five.

Image: FiveThirtyEight
Image: FiveThirtyEight

FiveThirtyEight have gathered results from across the globe, with a total of 636 teams featuring in the extensive list.

And perhaps the biggest shock of them all involves Manchester United, who fall behind the likes of Real Sociedad, Hoffenheim and Swiss side Young Boys.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's struggled last season but to finish as the 34th best team in world football sounds a tad harsh.

Solskjaer celebrates at full time. Image: PA Images
Solskjaer celebrates at full time. Image: PA Images


Image: FiveThirtyEight
Image: FiveThirtyEight

So how do they collate such results ahead of a new season?

According to their official website, 'every team has an offensive rating that represents the number of goals it would be expected to score against an average team on a neutral field, and a defensive rating that represents the number of goals it would be expected to concede.'

In addition, they said: 'These ratings, in turn, produce an overall SPI rating, which represents the percentage of available points. A win is worth 3 points, a tie worth 1 point, and a loss worth 0 points - the team would be expected to take if that match were played over and over again.'

These ratings change week on week, depending on performances.

There are some surprise names in the study, including Greek side Olympiacos, who feature above the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham and Juventus in ninth place.

If you want to see the full list of 636 teams, visit their website HERE.

Do you agree with the rankings?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Manchester City, Liverpool, Football News, Football, Manchester United, Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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