Messi eclipses Ronaldo in latest CIES player rankings

Lionel Messi secured his sixth Ballon d’Or earlier this month, and the Argentine has once again been lauded as the best footballer in the world based on the latest data from CIES Football Observatory.

Lionel Messi won the Men’s Ballon d’Or for the sixth time earlier this month, seeing off competition from Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina forward was involved in 63 goals for club and country over the past year, helping Barcelona retain their La Liga title.

His 46 goals and 17 assists were key in securing his record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or, moving him ahead of arch-rival Ronaldo.

Messi was presented with his most recent gong by 2018 winner Luka Modric, and the latest research from CIES Football Observatory indicates that the Barca talisman is performing at a level well ahead of both Modric and Ronaldo.

Ajax ace Hakim Ziyech is second overall with a score of 377 on the index, just ahead of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

Manchester United players are nowhere to be seen at the top of the elite rankings with Paul Pogba their highest-performing star – 39th with an index of 329.

The unique CIES tool allows users to alter footballers per league, position and age so it is clear to see the emergence of Liverpool and Leicester as defensive stalwarts this year.

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Van Dijk and Andrew Robertson top the centre-back and full-back categories respectively while Portuguese full-back Ricardo Pereira is also in the mix and his Leicester team-mate Ben Chilwell equals Ronaldo’s score – but which other players are ranked as best in Europe.