The 3rd best Player on the Planet?

Currently two footballers sit on top of the pile when any poll is done or the annual awards are handed out.
Messi and Ronaldo, possibly two of the greatest players not just of this generation but of any.

But after those two who's next?

One of Messi's team mates? Iniesta? Xavi? Fabregas?
One of Cristiano's? Ozil? Alonso?
The goal scoring machines that are Falcao, Gomez & Ibrahimovic?
The evergreen Pirlo? Or the youthful Hazard and Neymar?
Closer to home Rooney, RVP, Aguero, Toure, Kompany, Vidic, Silva, Bale?
The Bundesliga with Ribery, Schweingsteiger, Lahm, Reus?
One of the defenders? Silva? Ramos, Piqué, Hummels or Chiellini?
Or even a keeper? Casillas, Hart, Buffon?

Or none of the above?

If he carries on as he is then Marco Verratti

Has to be a Spaniard. Any one will do, Mata, Iniesta and Xavi are the three midfielders in the World for me.

Iniesta

Xavi.

How many players (of those not mentioned) could walk into the current Barca or Real Madrid sides? The only one I can think of is Gareth Bale. Diving aside he's an absolute beast of a footballer.

Talking of Spaniards Carzola of Arsenal has to be the best two footed player in world football today. Incredible.

I would choose Xavi. He might even be the best.

FreekShow wrote:How many players (of those not mentioned) could walk into the current Barca or Real Madrid sides? The only one I can think of is Gareth Bale. Diving aside he's an absolute beast of a footballer.

Talking of Spaniards Carzola of Arsenal has to be the best two footed player in world football today. Incredible.

Bale had a couple of good games against Inter, and then nothing since then! The guy is massively overrated!

Bale? Bale? Really

Branislav Ivanović

I think it's probably Iniesta who is a more rounded player than Xavi. I think Falcao isn't that far behind the two Spanish midfielders, and Ibrahimovic is underrated by football fans, overrated by himself.

CF wrote:

FreekShow wrote:How many players (of those not mentioned) could walk into the current Barca or Real Madrid sides? The only one I can think of is Gareth Bale. Diving aside he's an absolute beast of a footballer.

Talking of Spaniards Carzola of Arsenal has to be the best two footed player in world football today. Incredible.

Bale had a couple of good games against Inter, and then nothing since then! The guy is massively overrated!

If he was put up for sale tomorrow he'd fetch at least 50 million. This "he only played well against Inter" poppycock is getting boring now.

I would say Iniesta probably, I think he is much better than Xavi.

And people who say Bale has done nothing since the Inter game need to get some glasses or something

Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta is the top 3. I don't really think you can go beyond that as there's a number of players who are around the same ability. Xavi was a great player but not anymore. Age has unfortunately caught upto him and so has his achilles injury. Just cannot control or dictate a game like he used to and is the reason many people see Iniesta as the third best in the world.

If Falcao continues as the rate he's going at, he in my opinion will be the best out and out centre forward and finisher in the world.

Olly - you surprise me. Was sure you would've gone for Holt!

guildfordbat wrote:Olly - you surprise me. Was sure you would've gone for Holt!

I typed that at first but thought I would put up a proper response

Firstly sorry if this is in wrong place, moved it by accident and didn't know where it was originally.

Secondly Messi, is third best player in the word, behind Lee McCulloch and Then Ronaldo.

Thirdly I realise many of you won't have seen much Scottish third division football, so a more conventional choice would be Iniest

Carzorla for me, I love Xavi and Iniesta but they 2 have been allowed to develop alongise one another for years, that isn't a bad thing by the way, however simply because he stands alone I'd choose Santi, I love proper two footed footballers, he reminds me of Lubo Moravick, the greatest two footed player I've ever had the pleasure to watch.

Falcao would be a close 4th, although I do like a goalscorer

Vicente

Tough ask, Ronaldo and Messi are just so far ahead of the chasing pack right now (maybe even in history), it makes the rest look a blur... Picking a #3 is pretty much a preference. The last man not named Messi, or CR7 to win POTY was Kaká, & it aint him. That said, even as a Madridista, I do rate Iniesta, Xavi is (was?) a great player, but when you have his game (very few assists, even less goals) you become heavily reliant on other players to win games for the clubs, you just make sure they are given the platform, kinda like the band manager. And at this very moment, I think Arteta does Xavi better than Xavi. Falcao has to go to a bigger club before I can judge him, the lone candle in the room always appears to shine brighter than when its put in a room of candles. If not Iniesta, then v Persie.

Has to go to the European player of the year in Iniesta followed closely by Mata and Falcao and I can see Hazard and Oscar being up there by the end of the season.

3rd best striker in the world is Falcao, but 3rd best player is going to be Iniesta or Xavi, possibly run close by one of the recent German midfielders. (Ozil, Schwein).

I think Iniesta is an excellent player, better for Spain than he is for Barcelona because with Spain he's given a more free role in which he's almost their Messi while with Barca he has to be a bit more disciplined.

Well, having seen most of Bale's matches at WHL over the last couple of years I would not necessarily say that he is the third best player in the world but a case could be made for saying he's one of the best players in Europe.
Anyone who can run at exrtreme pace and control the ball at the same time is going to be a handful. Bale also has the ability to go through the middle or down the wing. Where he could improve is with his right-foot shooting. It still staggers me that players do not do more to earn their huge wages by continually practising with their "weaker" foot.
I suggest people study footage, if available, of some of the all-time greats in this respect. You didn't see Charlton or Best or Greaves or, more recently, Lineker or Shearer having to bring the ball back on to their "stronger" foot before shooting.

Yet weirdly the two greatest Argentine footballers of all time are both heavily reliant on their left foot.

Crimey - I don't dispute that and it's a fair point. Incidentally another great, great player - Ferenc Puskas - was almost totally left-footed. But you've got to be awfully good and awfully well balanced to be one-footed.

Yeah, it's odd isn't it? Left footed players seem to struggle to play with their right foot more than right footed players do with their left.

Yes, if you can force a left-sided player - say a left-back - infield then they rarely can play the ball forward with their right foot and have to play it off sideways and backwards. Left backs, for some reason, look far more awkward in this respect than right backs.
Similarly, it's an added bonus for defenders when forwards - and Defoe is particularly prone to this - always come back on to, say, their right foot. Defoe is constantly dispossessed in this way, as he so rarely trusts himself to go to the left

Something I noticed about this recently is that I don't know of any left-footed player who plays at right back, at the Olympics Stuart Pearce used Neil Taylor there, but that's the only time I've ever seen it. Yet a right footed left back is a fairly common site, Dennis Irwin, Phil Neville and Glen Johnson have all played at left back despite being right footed.

Ashley Young is a frustrating player for "one footedness", he pretty much never crosses with his left foot, always cutting onto his right which makes him much easier to defend against.

Iniesta is the best for me. Unlike the other two (Messi and CR7) he has done well internationally.

Although, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi have both carried their international sides for a few years now, Iniesta is just a cog in the world class machine of Spain.

While they would be weakened if you took Iniesta out, I'd still fancy to triumph at major competitions, Silva, Mata or Fabregas aren't bad understudies.

I think Grant Holt proved yesterday he has this in the bag

3rd. Iniesta-Can do everything brilliantly and just is the 3rd best for me, incredible talent.

On a couple of other points made, for me Pedro is the best 2 footed player in the world. He hasn't been great for Barca for a while (CL winning season 10/11) but on form he is superb with both feet.

Bale is an incredible talent, an old fashioned winger who drives at defenders and whips in crosses. Not in the top 10 for me YET but if he carries on the way he is then he certainly could be a top 5 player imo.

Got to be Falcao, he is a magnificent striker, the best around at the moment.

After that something like Iniesta,Xavi,Ozil and Reus have to be up there. Gotze in a year or two, Pirlo, so many great players but at the moment i would have Falcao in the top 3.

Falcao is single handely keeping the Spanish league interesting, astonishing form. I know PSG are rumoured to be signing him in January but if At. Madrid can keep in contact with Barcelona, then that just might tempt him to stay until the summer when Chelsea may come calling.

1. Messi
2. Ronaldo
3. Iniesta
4. Falcao

I can't see Falcao ending up anywhere other than Chelsea if he leaves Athletico Madrid in the next few years, he's essentially what Torres could have been, the player they wanted when they signed Torres.

While PSG will naturally be interested, being one of the few clubs who can afford him, they'd alienate Ibra if they signed a new world class striker for sure, I'm not sure if they'll risk it.

Whoever said Reus I am very surprised, although I've only ever seen him in Europe and for Germany at Euro 2012, I was really disappointed with him, considering the hype around him, he seemed very raw.

I thought he was very good at the Euro's when he got his chance, he was not an automatic starter at the time and everything i've seen of him since show's pure class. He's not the third best, probably not even in the top 10 but he certainly has the potential to be.

Man City are interested in Falcao per their head scout

GSC wrote:Man City are interested in Falcao per their head scout

They'll obviously be keeping an eye on him, but with Aguero, Tevez, Dzeko and Balotelli, I can't see the move happening, even if they do offload one of them.

I'm fairly sure Dzeko will be gone eventually

GSC wrote:I'm fairly sure Dzeko will be gone eventually

It depends if he's happy with the super-sub role, I imagine Mancini wouldn't mind keeping him for that, but he's not good enough to be a consistent starter.

Balotelli should be the first to go in my opinion.

Possibly, but if he ever matures theres a more than decent chance hell be #3.