September 18, 2018
Sergio Aguero – Manchester City and Argentina
Aguero in his early career did not live up to the billing, but he has grown into one of the best strikers in the world.
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World Soccer 500 2018
World Soccer 500 2018 Edition – Who Made It Into Our List?
Another year, another World Soccer 500. As with previous years, it is not intended to be a list of the “best” 500 players in the world.
How We Compiled the List
It’s impossible to compare players from different leagues and continents; any list is inevitably subjective. We have endeavoured to compile
a list of the world’s most talked-about players – the most newsworthy who, by definition, are the most important.
As with previous years, we began by drawing up a list of the key players by league – starting with 60 each for the leading leagues in Europe (England, Germany, Spain), 50 for France and Italy, between 15 and 25 for middle-ranking leagues, and ending with between five and 10 for smaller leagues.
We tried to include players who fell into five different categories:
1 In-form players who have starred in their respective domestic league during the current 2017-18 season.
2 The young talents who have earned rave reviews in the past year.
3 The internationals who will be key figures for their respective national sides at the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
4 Players who are likely to be key figures in the summer transfer market.
5 Those who have made the headlines off the pitch.
Reaching the final list was not easy. There are many players who missed the final cut but who came very close.
A new element this year is the inclusion of players who could make an impact at this summer’s World Cup. So there are more players from likes of Morocco, Senegal and Serbia, and one from Panama, as well as fewer players from countries such as USA and Holland, who missed out on the finals.
This is not intended to be the definitive list – merely one to provoke debate and discussion.
Also check out our coverage of the 2018 World Cup where we have done team guides, and pages for friendlies, fixtures, TV Schedule and a Stadium Guide.
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September 18, 2018
Leroy Sane – Manchester City and Germany
Leroy Sane has become a key cog for Manchester City, but see what we wrote on him in December 2015.
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September 18, 2018
Bernardo Silva – Manchester City and Portugal
We wrote a Talent Scout post on Bernardo Silva way back in November 2014. Take a look at that here
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June 24, 2018
World Soccer 500 – 2018 Edition Nationality List
Which country provided the most players for this year's World Soccer 500?
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May 18, 2018
Kingsley Coman – Bayern Munich and France
A clear difference maker with his speed, we wrote about Kingsley Coman in October 2014.
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April 4, 2018
World Soccer 500 – 2018 Edition Club List
Which club has the most players in our World Soccer 500 list of the most important players on the planet?
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March 28, 2018
World Soccer 500 – 2018 Edition Alphabetical List
The World Soccer 500 is back - check out who made our list of the 500 most important players on the planet
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March 14, 2018
Edin Dzeko – Roma and Bosnia Herzegovina
Dzeko has been a potent threat throughout his career, but take a look at what we wrote back in June 2009.
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March 12, 2018
Franck Ribery – Bayern Munich and France
We wrote about Franck Ribery in December 2005, as controversy swirled around him at Marseille.
