Most overrated 'world class' player?

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,919
Location
France
Maybe Im wrong but I will say Neymar.

The guy is just a different level of low now without the system of Barcelona helping him.

When you consider how Suarez has done this season when leaving Barcelona (and where Barcelona are without him) - then maybe Suarez was the second best forward at Barcelona.

* Also shows that amazing players can potentially be found out when moving to different leagues and different clubs; (ie Neymar at PSG or Ronaldo at Juventus) this is why players who stick to one league or a single club maybe looked upon as taking a slightly easier career route by some people (but not all people).
How has Neymar been found out in Ligue 1 or for PSG? He has been generally excellent outside of injuries.
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
Wow, this thread is full of people who clearly don't understand football.

Marcelo, Modric, Dani Alves overrated? :lol:
Depends how you rate Modric. As an elite midfielder, sure he is not overrated. But as Ballon D’or winner or best midfielder of the era, he definitely is overrated.
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
Depends how you rate Modric. As an elite midfielder, sure he is not overrated. But as Ballon D’or winner or best midfielder of the era, he definitely is overrated.
the trophies are often political anyway, and he won it because madrid were CL winners and Croatia got to the WC final.

As a midfielder? he was genuinely world class. I think people forget just how good he was, untouchable in his prime.
 

Rossa

Full Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
10,469
Location
Looking over my shoulder.
For me, Gareth Bale, Özil, Firmino and Pogba.

Bale was always a poor man's Ronaldo, and although he could have flashes of brilliance, he was never consistently brilliant enough for the world class label.

Özil was very good in RM, but when he was labelled world class, and especially after his move to England, he is overrated.

Firmino has been classed the best striker in Europe, by some, and those some are a crazy bunch of people. He doesn't score goals, and even at his best he is one of the least proflific strikers I've seen. Vastly overrated.

Pogba can be world class on his day, but it takes consistency to be labelled as such, and he lacks consistency either through injuries or being lazy. He can still become world class, but he needs to find consistency.

Of course, it all depends on how you define world class. I think it's a term that is now thrown about too much. Btw, pretty much the entire Liverpool squad are named world class at one point, so that it perhaps the most overrated bunch of players of all time.
 

Hughes35

Full Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2014
Messages
2,594
From that list Pique and Casillas. Good players sure, but not in the top bracket for me.

Right place, right time IMO. Same for Victor Valdes
 

RoyH1

Full Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
5,981
Location
DKNY
Wow, this thread is full of people who clearly don't understand football.

Marcelo, Modric, Dani Alves overrated? :lol:
We could also change the name of the thread to "Barcelona/Real Madrid players we don't like" and it'd be the same thing.
 

Cascarino

Magnum Poopus
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
7,616
Location
Wales
Supports
Swansea
I personally love Bale.

He went from an amazing LW, to arguably playing CAM/SS for Wales.

I felt that RW held him back a bit but it had to be done because of Ronaldo and Benzema.

One of my favourite goals of all time vs Liverpool one that I could watch again and again.
Despite being Welsh and loving the guy I can understand the Bale shouts in this thread. You make a good point though about his positioning, he was a better player when he was able to play centrally (and LW earlier in his career). Of course it made sense considering the level of competition at Madrid.
When I think of outstanding right backs of the last 20-years I think of Cafu and Zanetti.

Cafu was an incredible player who just played for Roma so he didn't get the exposure and recognition of CL players, but he was an incredible talent and leader. Don't forget he captained his nation to a World Cup win.

Zanetti was just a freak of nature - he played for 20 seasons at Inter and close to 150 times for the national team. Incredible stamina and consistency. Rolls Royce of a player.

I would add Philip Lahm into the mix, I think he was outstanding and extremely versatile considering he played also as a LB and midfielder under Pep, but strictly speaking as RB the two above are a level apart.
I can’t believe I forgot about Zanetti. The guy was a machine and I used to love watching him play, good shout
 

Bebestation

Im a doctor btw, my IQ destroys yours
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
11,862
Despite being Welsh and loving the guy I can understand the Bale shouts in this thread. You make a good point though about his positioning, he was a better player when he was able to play centrally (and LW earlier in his career). Of course it made sense considering the level of competition at Madrid.


I can’t believe I forgot about Zanetti. The guy was a machine and I used to love watching him play, good shout
Would you say Giggs was better than Bale mate?
 

harms

Shining Star of Paektu Mountain
Staff
Joined
Apr 8, 2014
Messages
28,028
Location
Moscow
He got a lot of them for a player that did not win anything with Brazil.
That's quite a lot of nothing.

  • Copa América (2): 2007, 2019
  • FIFA Confederations Cup (2): 2009, 2013
  • FIFA World Youth Championship (1): 2003
  • FIFA U-20 World Cup Bronze Ball: 2003
  • Copa América Most Valuable Player: 2019
  • Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2019
 

Piratesoup

Full Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
6,939
Supports
Bayern München
I would add Philip Lahm into the mix, I think he was outstanding and extremely versatile considering he played also as a LB and midfielder under Pep, but strictly speaking as RB the two above are a level apart.
I'm clearly biased, but I don't rate any RB of this century higher than Lahm, he was pretty much the perfect player in his position.
 

Cascarino

Magnum Poopus
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
7,616
Location
Wales
Supports
Swansea
Would you say Giggs was better than Bale mate?
This is a risky question to answer on a Manchester United forum, but for me I’d say Bale.
If longevity and the ability to reinvent oneself comes into play then Giggs is the winner, but I think judging them at their peaks Bale is the one I would take. He also had outstanding loyalty to Wales, and while I don’t really blame Giggs for not being super enthused about playing for the national team, I’m always grateful to Bale that the national team was obviously a massive thing for him and contributed to the Euro 2016 run.

I think Giggs will go down as the greater play, due to longevity and the way he transformed his game (something Bale has done but I can’t see him doingit to the same success as Giggs) but both at their best I’d take Bale.
 

Bebestation

Im a doctor btw, my IQ destroys yours
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
11,862
This is a risky question to answer on a Manchester United forum, but for me I’d say Bale.
If longevity and the ability to reinvent oneself comes into play then Giggs is the winner, but I think judging them at their peaks Bale is the one I would take. He also had outstanding loyalty to Wales, and while I don’t really blame Giggs for not being super enthused about playing for the national team, I’m always grateful to Bale that the national team was obviously a massive thing for him and contributed to the Euro 2016 run.

I think Giggs will go down as the greater play, due to longevity and the way he transformed his game (something Bale has done but I can’t see him doingit to the same success as Giggs) but both at their best I’d take Bale.
Same. And I'm not welsh.
 

GatoLoco

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
Messages
3,296
Supports
Real Madrid
Depends how you rate Modric. As an elite midfielder, sure he is not overrated. But as Ballon D’or winner or best midfielder of the era, he definitely is overrated.
Oh, I do think he's been the best midfielder since 2013, and if you know someone better mention them.
 

Iker Quesadillas

Full Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
4,004
Supports
Real Madrid
Modric was the only constant in midfield for a club that won 4 CLs in 5 years. Of course they're gonna give him some awards, c'mon now.

And before you say "waah but the award is only for the calendar year not a career achievement award", let me stop you right there and say: it is what the voters say it is.
 

GatoLoco

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
Messages
3,296
Supports
Real Madrid
This kind of threads mostly end up proving the amount of people that don't watch football.
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
the trophies are often political anyway, and he won it because madrid were CL winners and Croatia got to the WC final.

As a midfielder? he was genuinely world class. I think people forget just how good he was, untouchable in his prime.
If you only rated him as a worldclass midfielder. Then of course he is not overrated.

Point being, many out there thought he deserves to win a Ballon D’or, which means he is the best player in the world, in such sense, he is overrated.
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
Modric was the only constant in midfield for a club that won 4 CLs in 5 years. Of course they're gonna give him some awards, c'mon now.

And before you say "waah but the award is only for the calendar year not a career achievement award", let me stop you right there and say: it is what the voters say it is.
Hence the voters had overrated him, which I think is the point of this thread.
 

GatoLoco

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
Messages
3,296
Supports
Real Madrid
We could also change the name of the thread to "Barcelona/Real Madrid players we don't like" and it'd be the same thing.
Spot on.

Can you imagine the day City and Chelsea win 7 Champions Leagues combined with almost the same core of players someone decides to open a thread telling how overrated those players were?

This is one of the most ridiculous threads I have ever seen.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,919
Location
France
Modric was the only constant in midfield for a club that won 4 CLs in 5 years. Of course they're gonna give him some awards, c'mon now.

And before you say "waah but the award is only for the calendar year not a career achievement award", let me stop you right there and say: it is what the voters say it is.
If you are talking about the Ballon d'Or then France Football is clear about this, it's a yearly award that celebrates level of performances and it also gives a premium to summer tournaments and CL performances. Modric won the Ballon d'Or because 2018 was the year where the partnership between France Football and FIFA stopped and France Football went back to the original version of the award.
 

Gibb11

Full Member
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
451
Location
Wakefield
Modric for me.

I don't see to get the worldclass vibe around him. Surely he is a good midfielder, I still believe the balon d'or awarded to him is ta tas. Not to talk of the incessant mentions in the same breath as Xavi and Iniesta as tier one level midfielders by some Madrid fans.

I still have this conflict in my mind why Sneijder never won the balon d'or in 2010 or Iniester in 2012. These guys where clearly levels above Modric talent wise, but where all denied.

Modric doesn't give me the vibe that he is about to produce a moment of magic each time I see him play so what's the fuze?
For me modric is more talented that sniejder
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
Oh, I do think he's been the best midfielder since 2013, and if you know someone better mention them.
Totally not agree.

2013 - Iniesta, Xavi, Ozil, Pirlo, Toure, Schweinsteiger
2014 - Kroos, James, Toure, Iniesta, Schweinsteiger, Pogba
2015 - Iniesta, Pogba, Toure, Vidal, De Bruyne, Kroos
2016 - Pogba, Vidal, Kroos
2017 - Modric is probably the best midfielder
2018 - Modric is best in WC. Kroos, De Bruyne, Kante etc are better over the season
2019-2021 - De Bruyne, Silva, De Jong, Kante, Bruno, Grealish, and even Pogba, and plenty others are far better
 

diarm

Full Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
16,785
If my mates are anything to go by, the answer is Lukaku.

The biggest flat track bully in football for me. He scores loads of goals but rarely in the big games - see his record in the major tournaments where he'll bag a brace against the likes of Tunisia, Panama or Ireland, but then won't score again for the rest of the tournament. Put him in a major final and all he scores are own goals.
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
Alves was slighty better offensively but, Cafu was far better defensively than him.
Alves was very good defensively. In the regular Classico matches he gave Ronaldo a very difficult time, probably only Ashley Cole dealt with him as well.
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
If you only rated him as a worldclass midfielder. Then of course he is not overrated.

Point being, many out there thought he deserves to win a Ballon D’or, which means he is the best player in the world, in such sense, he is overrated.
Winning the Balon D'or doesn't really mean you're the best in the world, just the best in that year.
 

Cascarino

Magnum Poopus
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
7,616
Location
Wales
Supports
Swansea
For me modric is more talented that sniejder
I think Modric was the superior player, but I might argue that Sneijder was the more talented (though I’m not thoroughly convinced just a thought). He self professed a few times that he liked to party and wasn’t as committed as he could have been. Modric is of course supremely talented as well and the level he’s been able to keep as he’s aged has shown his incredible commitment, especially at a club like Madrid where the pressure is massive.
 

GatoLoco

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
Messages
3,296
Supports
Real Madrid
Totally not agree.

2013 - Iniesta, Xavi, Ozil, Pirlo, Toure, Schweinsteiger
2014 - Kroos, James, Toure, Iniesta, Schweinsteiger, Pogba
2015 - Iniesta, Pogba, Toure, Vidal, De Bruyne, Kroos
2016 - Pogba, Vidal, Kroos
2017 - Modric is probably the best
2018 - Modric is best in WC. Kroos, De Bruyne, Kante etc are better over the season
2019 onwards - De Bruyne, Silva, De Jong and plenty others are far better
You are just mentioning names for the sake of it, but it does not correspond with reality. For instance Modric was named the best midfielder of the strongest league in Europe in 2013/14 and on the top of that he won the Champions League and Copa del Rey. He was also a much better player than Kroos in the Madrid Bayern duel which I think you didn't even watch. Iniesta was not even nominated among the best three midfielders in 2013/2014 in La Liga, those were Modric, Gabi and Busquets

In 2014/15 he was injured in the most important games.

In 2015/16 he won the best midfielder in La Liga award again, yet you mention Kroos who played in the same league and Vidal who is a clearly inferior footballer.

Please tell me your post was not being serious.
 

Dan_F

Full Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Messages
10,402
Marcelo was doing what Shaw has done this season, at the very top level of European football. We all know the Champions League reflects massively on the list there, which Madrid obviously won loads.
 

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,919
Location
France
Totally not agree.

2013 - Iniesta, Xavi, Ozil, Pirlo, Toure, Schweinsteiger
2014 - Kroos, James, Toure, Iniesta, Schweinsteiger, Pogba
2015 - Iniesta, Pogba, Toure, Vidal, De Bruyne, Kroos
2016 - Pogba, Vidal, Kroos
2017 - Modric is probably the best midfielder
2018 - Modric is best in WC. Kroos, De Bruyne, Kante etc are better over the season
2019-2021 - De Bruyne, Silva, De Jong, Kante, Bruno, Grealish, and even Pogba, and plenty others are far better
None of the Bayern's Vidal versions were better than Modric. I'm not even sure if he was a match for his own teammates, Thiago and Xabi Alonso.
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
None of the Bayern's Vidal versions were better than Modric. I'm not even sure if he was a match for his own teammates, Thiago and Xabi Alonso.
Ok, it’s one out for you, which is fair. But there are still plenty out there.

Look I rate him as worldclass midfielder and one of the top/elite midfielder around. But he is no way at any point of his career the best player in the world, nor is he best midfielder in the world since 2013, there are just plenty others who are at least at the same level. No offense but this is exactly where I find him overrated by many.
 
Last edited:

JPRouve

can't stop thinking about balls - NOT deflategate
Scout
Joined
Jan 31, 2014
Messages
65,919
Location
France
Ok, it’s one out for you, which is fair. But there are still plenty out there.
In 2018, Modric was arguably the best player for Real Madrid and clearly better than Kroos, he was arguably the best performer in the CL and you said it yourself the best performer during the WC. Honestly it's baffling that you even suggested several times that Kroos was better. As Gatoloco said, he was far better than Kroos in 2014 or any other years.
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
To be more specific, best in the world in that year, which he clearly isn’t.
In terms of individual ability, or the season? it depends how you're rating it. Often the Balon D'or is more weighted to performance.

Cannavaro won it the year he won the WC, but was he the best player? no.
 

Hansinity

Full Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Messages
848
Supports
Bayern Munich
For me, Gareth Bale, Özil, Firmino and Pogba.

Bale was always a poor man's Ronaldo, and although he could have flashes of brilliance, he was never consistently brilliant enough for the world class label.

Özil was very good in RM, but when he was labelled world class, and especially after his move to England, he is overrated.

Firmino has been classed the best striker in Europe, by some, and those some are a crazy bunch of people. He doesn't score goals, and even at his best he is one of the least proflific strikers I've seen. Vastly overrated.

Pogba can be world class on his day, but it takes consistency to be labelled as such, and he lacks consistency either through injuries or being lazy. He can still become world class, but he needs to find consistency.

Of course, it all depends on how you define world class. I think it's a term that is now thrown about too much. Btw, pretty much the entire Liverpool squad are named world class at one point, so that it perhaps the most overrated bunch of players of all time.
Good mentions, disagree a bit with Formino though. I never seen people hyping him up that much to be considered as overrated.
 

Green_Red

New Member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
10,296
Every single player on that list deserves to be there.
Yea, but they are there based on the omission of better players. How can Rio and Vidic, who both played in 3 CL finals in 4 years, and won the PL 3 times in a row not be in that list but John Terry can. Same could be said for Scholes v Gerrard. Gerrard was good but doesn't deserve to be in any team of the year over Scholes for the years 2007-2011.
 

RedRonaldo

Wishes to be oppressed.
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
18,996
You are just mentioning names for the sake of it, but it does not correspond with reality. For instance Modric was named the best midfielder of the strongest league in Europe in 2013/14 and on the top of that he won the Champions League and Copa del Rey. He was also a much better player than Kroos in the Madrid Bayern duel which I think you didn't even watch. Iniesta was not even nominated among the best three midfielders in 2013/2014 in La Liga, those were Modric, Gabi and Busquets

In 2014/15 he was injured in the most important games.

In 2015/16 he won the best midfielder in La Liga award again, yet you mention Kroos who played in the same league and Vidal who is a clearly inferior footballer.

Please tell me your post was not being serious.
Those players I’ve mentioned, at the very least they all rank higher than Modric in Ballon D’or in each of specific year I’ve listed above. Sure you could disagree and think all of other midfielders are overrated instead, and Modric is clearly better than them all. But I tend to agree with the list, or at least 80% of it. I just never rate Modric as the best midfielder in the world for extensive period of time like some of you do. Yes he is one of the best midfielder out there for few good years, and was among the elites (maybe top 5-10 in most other period of time) but that’s about it. I’ve seen a lot of him, especially 2018, actually Real Madrid midfield was not that good that year, they got dominated by many weaker teams in midfield for many games I’ve seen, with Modric playing. I am not sure if some of you could still remember that, but I could.