Sportskeeda's list of 50 best players playing currently: 40-31

To break into the upper echelons of football royalty, one must blend passion with temperament, focus with desire and, ultimately, must maintain top form throughout the most part of their career. New talents are being scouted as we speak and it can, therefore, be challenging to take a snapshot of the football landscape as it is now… but that’s exactly what I have done.

In a, frankly, subjective piece, which it is impossible to gain unanimous agreement with, I have sprinkled my search for the greatest fifty players in the world with a pinch of objectivity by using weighted averages to determine who comes out on top.

 Each player was allocated a score out of 100 for their ‘Overall Ability’ (technique, goal-scoring records / defensive records), their ‘Success’ (team and individual trophies won during their career, relative to their age and time in the game) and their ‘Recent Form’ (how they’ve performed throughout this calendar year, injuries, etc. have been taken into account). The former was attributed with a weighting of 40%, the most important aspect to consider, while the other two categories were each given a 30% weighting.

An average was then taken, and other factors such as potential and importance to their team were taken into account. So if you have any serious qualms with the choices made, remember that statistics have been used to back-up the views in this article.

With too much eye-watering detail to cram into a single piece, this is a ‘Sportskeeda Series’. Here’s a look at those positioned from 40 to 31.

#40 Karim Benzema

He may have been tied up in numerous scandals over the years, the most recent of which has led to a ban from the national team, but fierce Frenchman Benzema remains one of the most sought-after forwards in the world.

In his final two seasons for Olympique Lyonnais, the now 28-year-old scored over 50 goals before current club Real Madrid snapped him up for €35 million. Few players can boast the accolades Benzema has won, from the prestigious UEFA Champions League crown to numerous La Liga and Copa del Rey titles. 

While Los Blancos have gone through the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata and Gareth Bale in their more recent front-line metamorphoses, Benzema has remained a consistent component of one of the continent’s most lethal strike forces.

With pace and strength in his locker, Benzema is arguably the complete forward and is only just reaching his peak. Karim silenced critics recently, rubbishing questions over his contribution to the team with a last-gasp winner against Sporting Lisbon; a goal that now confirms him as the sixth highest Champions League goal-scorer of all time.