In the world of competitive football, new stars emerge every year and the determination of the best player in the world sparks endless debates between fans and pundits. There are a lot of tournaments that have taken place since 2020 and it is also a good measure of how the players have performed for their team. Without further ado, let's take a look at the Top 5 best players in the world from 2020 until now (August-2023).
1/ Kylian Mbappe
Since joining AS Monaco as a teenager, Kylian Mbappe has been absolutely world-class. The star is arguably the best footballer in the world since 2020 and is an integral part of Paris Saint-Germain and the French team. He has won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award three times in the last three seasons and is the top scorer in the league in the last four seasons.
Mbappe has also won three Ligue 1 titles since the start of 2020. He also plays an important role in France's UEFA Nations League title in 2021. The attacker is simply outstanding for his national team at the 2022 World Cup, when he scored 8 goals and provided 2 assists in the biggest tournament on the planet.
Mbappe scored an excellent hat-trick for France in the final against Argentina but in the end Les Bleus failed to win the title when it lost on penalties. He is at his own level in terms of scoring and creating chances for teammates in recent years. The 24-year-old has scored 152 goals and provided 65 assists in 173 appearances in all competitions for PSG since the start of the 2019-20 season.
2/ Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi's career has been extremely exciting since the beginning of 2020. Messi has continued the impressive 2019-20 season for Barcelona by winning the 7th Ballon d'Or, thereby extending the record into 2021. 38 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions for the Catalan side in the 2020-21 season. Messi also led the Argentina team to Copa America glory in the summer of 2021 and also won the Golden Boot title at the tournament.
He also shared the Player of the Year award with Neymar. Messi then left his childhood club Barcelona that same summer to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. He won the Ligue 1 title in both seasons he played in France. But the most notable achievement of this superstar in the past 3 years is to bring the Argentina team to World Cup glory in 2022.
Messi was in unstoppable form taking La Albiceleste to the promised land and winning the World Cup Golden Ball in Qatar, scoring seven goals and providing three assists. As a result, the superstar is now tipped to win his 8th Ballon d'Or with a record-breaking run this year. The Argentine legend joined Inter Miami and changed their destiny overnight. In 6 appearances for the club so far, Messi has scored 9 goals and provided 1 assist.
3/ Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is Bayern Munich's most outstanding player when they won the continental treble in the 2019-20 season. He scored 55 goals and provided 10 assists in 47 appearances in all competitions that season as Bayern enjoyed a historic campaign. Lewandowski was supposed to win the World Ballon d'Or in 2020 but the award was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He won the European Golden Shoe for the next two seasons, scoring 41 and 35 goals respectively in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Bundesliga campaigns. Lewandowski has won three Bundesliga titles since 2020. He also received the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award in 2020 and 2021. The Polish legend joined Barcelona last summer and took them there. La Liga championship 2022-23, when scoring 23 goals in 34 appearances in the tournament.
4/ Karim Benzema
After Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, Karim Benzema took over the main role of Los Blancos. He has successfully completed the task of coaching the team until leaving the club earlier this summer. Benzema's contributions are very important in helping Real Madrid win La Liga in the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons. He was at his peak in the 2021-22 season, when he scored 44 goals and provided 15 assists to help the Bernabeu team win La Liga and Champions League.
The striker won the Ballon d'Or last year for his achievements in the 2021-22 season. The French star was also named UEFA Player of the Year during that period. Benzema also won the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid in the 2022-23 season, which was also his final season at the club. The 35-year-old striker also won the La Liga Player of the Year award for the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons. He currently plays for Saudi Pro League team Al-Ittihad.
5/ Kevin De Bruyne
Over the past several seasons, Kevin De Bruyne has established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of the 21st century. The Belgian is also a highly appreciated element in the Man City midfield thanks to creativity, vision and technical level. De Bruyne played a key role in all of Manchester City's success under Pep Guardiola.
The star has won 3 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, 1 FA Cup and 1 Champions League since the beginning of 2020. The 32-year-old midfielder has twice won the PFA Player of the Year award as well. as Premier League Player of the Season during that period.