Manchester United have made a so-so start to life under the management of Jose Mourinho but this does not seem to have made a difference to how his players have been viewed by the over 500 global journalists from Goal.com who selected the Top 50 elite footballers in their annual poll. Goal.com’s football aficionados looked at players from every territory in the world and evaluated them based on their consistency, performances in big matches, achievements of their club and country as well as their reputations and what they have done in the game over the course of their careers.
The winner this year was former United great Cristiano Ronaldo who was likely a relatively easy choice as he enjoyed major success both with his club and country. Ronaldo won the Champions League with Real Madrid and went on to win EURO 2016 as he captained his country Portugal to their first major international trophy. Luis Suarez of Barcelona came next followed by Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann with last year’s winner Lionel Messi finishing in 4th place.
United were far and away the most successful Premier League club in the poll as they had 4 players selected in the top 50 with Arsenal and Manchester City the next best British clubs as both had 2 players chosen. The 4 players chosen for United included Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 10th spot, followed by Paul Pogba in 15th, then despite the slow start to his United career came Henrik Mkhitaryan in 36th position and last of the Red Devils’ players came David Gea in 45th position as the only Premier League goalie to make the list.
Talking about the success of United’s players in the Top 50 poll, Global Editor-in-Chief at Goal.com, James Marley had this to say:
“The presence of four Manchester United players on this year’s Goal 50 list demonstrates the club’s ability to continue to attract the biggest names in world football. Outside of the club’s recent signings, David De Gea’s performances this season mean few could argue against his place on the list as the only Premier League goalkeeper.”
So United are still perceived as one of the most attractive teams in world football to play for which is a very good thing for Jose Mourinho as he looks to build and mold his United team into a winning outfit. Fans will be hoping that United’s players both new and established manage to grow into a tightly knit unit and produce the kind of football required to move up the Premier League table to challenge for the title and at least finish in the top 4.
You can see the entire list of the top 50 world players as polled by their journalists at Goal.com.