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Topics: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Inter Miami, MLS
Will Evans
Topics: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Rodri, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Inter Miami, MLS
Lionel Messi has failed to make the top five in a recent list of the 100 best players in the world, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing out altogether.
The ranking list is published yearly by popular football magazine FourFourTwo and, on this occasion, superstar Messi hasn't made the top five.
The Argentine left Europe for the MLS in July, joining David Beckham's Inter Miami on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
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Despite having scored 32 goals in all competitions and playing at one of Europe's biggest clubs for half the calendar year, Messi had to make do with sixth place on this year's list.
His move to a much weaker league and the fact he is no longer featuring in the Champions League are factors that could count against him in not placing higher.
He squeezed into the top five last year, placing fifth ahead of Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski.
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But on this occasion, he has dropped a place with three new faces among the top five best players in world football and Ronaldo not worthy of a place at all, according to FourFourTwo.
Ahead of Messi in fifth is Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who was an essential part of Pep Guardiola's treble-winning side last season.
In fourth is Messi's former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who won yet another Ligue 1 title with the French giants last season.
Two Englishman secured places in the top three with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane at third. Since moving to the Bundesliga in the summer, Kane has become the fastest player in the league's history to score 20 goals.
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Ahead of him is England teammate and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, who has become an unstoppable force in midfield for Los Blancos this season.
The 20-year-old has scored 13 league goals in his first 15 appearances which is a higher total than he managed during his entire three-year spell at Borussia Dortmund.
Taking the top spot in the list for the second successive year is Erling Haaland. The City forward broke the record for the most Premier League goals in a single season by scoring 38 in the last campaign as his side secured an inaugural treble.
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And while Messi's omission from the top five is noteworthy, Ronaldo's absence altogether is even more startling.
Despite his move to the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo is still the league's top scorer as he fights off competition from former Spurs flop Georges-Kevin N'Koudou and Aleksandr Mitrovic.
There is room for another Saudi-based player in Karim Benzema, who places 96th on the list.