Top 5 most successful football players of decade (2013-2022)

Most successful football players of decade

Most successful football players of decade of decade? Who are the best players to have played football the past decade?

The ten years from 2013 to 2022 was brilliant for football. The game we all love never failed to please us, and while looking back right now, if we were asked to name our favorite footballing moment from this decade, we would struggle hard to find a definite answer.

The decade between 2013 and 2022 also witnessed the rise of several footballers. Some stars became superstars, while a few superstars became some of the biggest legends of the game. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 most successful footballers from these ten years. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

Top 5 most successful football players of decade (2013-2022)

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – most successful football players of decade

Ibrahimović is one of the finest strikers in last one decade and he proved that age is just a number in football. In modern football, we usually see players retiring after the age of 35 and even we can’t assume any player playing even at the age of 40. Zlatan proved it wrong by playing even in his 40s and the best thing is he has played in Europe’s top football leagues. He is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world.

Zlatan have won 31 trophies in his career and scored over 570 career goals. He is the rare player who has scored in each of the last four decades. He is currently playing for AC Milan and previously played for top European clubs like Manchester United, Inter, Juventus, PSG, Ajax and Barcelona. He has only missed Bundesliga in top 5 European leagues. He has 6 Serie A titles, 4 Ligue 1 titles, 3 Eredivisie titles and one La Liga title.

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4. Luka Modric – most successful football players of decade

Only one player has won the Ballon d’Or ever since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi established their duopoly over the prestigious award in the late 2000s – and that distinction goes to Luka Modric, who lifted the Ballon d’Or, UEFA Best Men’s Player and the FIFA Best Men’s Player awards in 2018. AC Milan legend Ricardo Kaka was the first player ever to do that, but he lifted the Ballon d’Or back in 2007.

2018 was one of the best years as a footballer for Modric, as he first led Real Madrid to a hat-trick Champions League win at the end of the 2017-18 season, before captaining the Croatian national team to their first-ever FIFA World Cup final.

His ability to score from long-range, coupled with his technical abilities has made him a nightmare for opposition teams for several years now. He has also been named in the FIFPro World XI five times this decade. The 37-year-old has made 431 appearances for Real Madrid till date, and has recorded 31 goals. He recently won the La Liga title which was his 3rd and club’s 35th title. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

3. Sergio Ramos – most successful football players of decade

Sergio Ramos is currently playing for PSG but we will always remember his glorious days with Real Madrid. He was also the captain of Real Madrid who won the La Liga title in 2019/20. Having taken up the role post-Iker Casillas’ departure in 2015 – and over the past decade and a half at the Santiago Bernabeu, he established himself as a club legend.

The Spanish centre-back and 2010 FIFA World Cup winner joined the Merengues in 2005 from Sevilla for a reported transfer of €27 million, and so far, he has been involved in some of their most iconic moments in history, including all four of their Champions League wins this decade.

In fact, Real Madrid were losing to Atletico Madrid in the 2013-14 Champions League final, before the Spinard sent in an injury-time header to equalize the scoreline. Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo then added one goal each during extra time to win the match and the trophy.

Ramos is also Real Madrid’s highest-scoring defender, and his goal-scoring skills have often proved effective for the club – as you can see from the example above. A leader by example, he has also won the UEFA Best Defender award twice and has also been included in the FIFPro World XI nine times this decade.

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2. Cristiano Ronaldo – most successful football players of decade

Cristiano Ronaldo is still justifying his tag of a world-class footballer. His current team United had a poor campaign this season but he was still the top scorer for them. Meanwhile, like Ramos, we remember Ronaldo as a Real Madrid legend. His signing by Real Madrid in 2009 marked the beginning of one of their most-successful phases in history.

The Portuguese legend scored 450 goals in 438 appearances for Los Blancos, and also won four Ballon d’Ors, three UEFA Best Men’s Player and two FIFA Best Men’s Player awards, two UEFA Best Forward awards and three European Golden Shoes during the nine seasons he played at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He also broke a host of records while at the club, such as becoming the first player to score against every La Liga opponent in a single season and the first person to score 50-plus goals each in six consecutive seasons. In 2018, Serie A club Juventus signed him for €117 million and then after winning Serie A titles, he moved to Old Trafford which was his second debut at the former club.

1. Lionel Messi – most successful football players of decade

We do not need to explain this one. With 7 Ballon d’Ors, 2 UEFA Best Men’s Player awards, 1 FIFA Best Men’s Player award, 1 UEFA Best Forward award, 3 UEFA Best Goal of the Year awards and 11 FIFPro World XI inclusions, Lionel Messi is the footballer who won the most individual awards in world football between 2012 and 2021.

When you add 7 La Liga titles, 5 Copa del Rey trophies, five Spanish Super Cups, two Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups to the above list, we can easily understand why the 34-year-old is believed to be one of the best in the business right now.

The Argentina international also broke a few records along the way, including most Ballon ‘dOr wins, most La Liga hat-tricks and most European Golden Shoe wins. He is not playing for Barcelona now and moved to PSG in 2021.  Watch & Bet Football Live =>

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