Most under- and overrated current players?

[Fobal]

I think with his starting point(187/85) he was as creative and good at dribbling as they come. His size automatically makes it impossible to be a Messi/Neymar/type, but when he competes against other 185cm + guys he is the only one at that level. Even though we don't have weight/height classes in football, very different bodies still have different limitations of course.

He never was an off the charts dribbler.
I feel that players like Kempes, Gullit, Ibra, R9 to name some, were better or at least on pair big dribblers and even slightly tall fellas like Robben too...that doesn't mean better goalscorers, faster, etc.
He is a bit stiff in his dribbling, he never kind of knew were he would end if he tried taking on many far from the rivals area.
Yet when he was closer to the area, when he had the goal as aim, there he made his best plays, leaving in the dust a couple of fellas or at least one and blast it on the net or finishing with finesse. But at the end of the day there is a large list of players from any height that were better than him in such regard.
Nonetheless, let's be clear that going in a straight line at full speed, when nobody can grab you, it's ALSO dribbling, it requires to take advantage of more space, of great timing and it's dribbling anyway and in such scenarios, he was fantastic with many of those runs far from the rival's net.

PD: the most annoying thing regarding this whole CR dribbling thing are those mixed bag vids trying to make him an off the charts dribbler. Those tend to have 45 plays were he stays in the same place, pulling stepovers with his leg over a metre above the ball while ending with an unncesary backheel and not advancing two metres.
In the middle of such thing, there are some fantastic slaloms, or specially plays like the ones I've mentioned in the first paragraph, but the way they fill his vids with the type of plays mentioned here, it makes those vids kind of annoying at some point.

 

[V.O.]

I think with his starting point(187/85) he was as creative and good at dribbling as they come. His size automatically makes it impossible to be a Messi/Neymar/type, but when he competes against other 185cm + guys he is the only one at that level. Even though we don't have weight/height classes in football, very different bodies still have different limitations of course.

Zidane, Kaka, Henry, Rivaldo?

 

[Enigma_87]

I think with his starting point(187/85) he was as creative and good at dribbling as they come. His size automatically makes it impossible to be a Messi/Neymar/type, but when he competes against other 185cm + guys he is the only one at that level. Even though we don't have weight/height classes in football, very different bodies still have different limitations of course.

Two of the greatest dribblers the game have ever seen - Fenomeno and Dinho are just 2 inches shorter. I don't believe 187cm is an issue.

 

[GledTheRed]

Overrated - Trent Alexander Arnold, Allison, Van Dyjk, Ruben Dias, Grealish, Luis Diaz, Ederson, Rice, Doku.

Underrated - Dalot, Onana, Rashford.

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

5. Cristiano: Another controversial one. He is an all time great but some tend to overrate him even beyond that by exaggerating some of his ability outside goalscoring. For me, most of his greatness across his career has been about scoring goals (long distance, free kicks, headers, counters, poached goals name it) not creating or dribbling as claimed by some.

He was the best dribbler in the world from 2006-2009.

 

[Bondi77]

Overrated. James Rodriguez
Underrated Andy Cole.

 

[André Dominguez]

He was the best dribbler in the world from 2006-2009.

Not true. Messi always had a much better ratio of sucessful dribbles per game.

 

[André Dominguez]

Overrated. James Rodriguez
Underrated Andy Cole.

Agree with James. When he left Porto for Monaco he wasn't even a consistent player. He would sit on the bench for plenty of games at that Porto team.

 

[AshRK]

Overrated VVD. Massive overyhype by comparing him to the very best CBs
Underrated: Bernardo Silva

In Man Utd
Overrated: Luke Shaw
Underrated: Onana

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

Not true. Messi always had a much better ratio of sucessful dribbles per game.

I didn't watch much of Messi in 2006-07 but I don't recall him being spoken about on the same level as Ronaldo and Kaka that season. Either way - Ronaldo was definitely in the top 3 dribblers in the world from 2006-2009.

To claim that Ronaldo's dribbling ability has become overrated is bizarre (unless we're only referring to the Ronaldo we saw in his 30s).

 

[tomaldinho1]

Ibrahimovic lacks decisive moments in the knockout stages of the Champions League to be that level and it's not for lack of attempts. Played in the CL constantly and didn't stand out in the latter stages. He had 20 years in the CL and only scored 9 in the knockouts - despite playing for all the big Italian teams, Barca, PSG.

The only really notable goals against a good side were against Arsenal away in 09/10 for Barca - and was soon dropped after that. Scored a few against Chelsea 15/16 on an off-season, tap-in against Barca and a fluke against Man City.

A level below the very best strikers of his generation, never mind other generations.

I'm not sure how well this argument holds up to scrutiny - I'd say his Inter years were a big disappointment in the CL but otherwise he's scored versus City, Barca, Chelsea (2), Ars (3), Leverkusen (2) and Stuttgart + got assisted versus Chelsea, AC Milan, Real, Stuttgart, Ars (2) and Barca (3) in the knock out rounds.

Who would you put above him from this generation?

 

[Bale Bale Bale]

Overrated: Conor Gallagher

I don't get it. Chelsea fans and the media have done an excellent propaganda job on him. Top player apparently yet no one can name any standout qualities of his that aren't based around how much he can run. Spurs fans were clamouring for us to blow £50m on him (he presses so well they all cried). I'm convinced that the only reason they've talked themselves into believing that is that they think it would mean us getting one over on Chelsea, when in actuality he's not good enough for where Chelsea want to be, nor us. He also looks annoyingly like Jordan Henderson with a man bun.

 

[André Dominguez]

I didn't watch much of Messi in 2006-07 but I don't recall him being spoken about on the same level as Ronaldo and Kaka that season. Either way - Ronaldo was definitely in the top 3 dribblers in the world from 2006-2009.

To claim that Ronaldo's dribbling ability has become overrated is bizarre (unless we're only referring to the Ronaldo we saw in his 30s).

Not saying overrated, he's One of the best ever players of out beloved sport. Messi was just better at dribbling. People like to slag Ronaldo nowadays simply because he's already pre-retired and can't perform nowhere near a top level, even for asian football standards.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I didn't watch much of Messi in 2006-07 but I don't recall him being spoken about on the same level as Ronaldo and Kaka that season. Either way - Ronaldo was definitely in the top 3 dribblers in the world from 2006-2009.

To claim that Ronaldo's dribbling ability has become overrated is bizarre (unless we're only referring to the Ronaldo we saw in his 30s).

Just looked up an old forum post out of interest from 2007 about best dribblers that season and most of the comments there even then say Messi. He was a phenomenon at that age and maintained through his career. Ronaldinho was also still at it in 2006-07, in a gradual decline physically but his dribbling was top-notch. I agree Ronaldo was also a fine dribbler then, it’s probably the only time he had a shout of being top 3 dribblers with Kaka, Ronaldinho, Messi.

 

[TenonTen]

I'm not sure how well this argument holds up to scrutiny - I'd say his Inter years were a big disappointment in the CL but otherwise he's scored versus City, Barca, Chelsea (2), Ars (3), Leverkusen (2) and Stuttgart + got assisted versus Chelsea, AC Milan, Real, Stuttgart, Ars (2) and Barca (3) in the knock out rounds.

Who would you put above him from this generation?

That's a very disappointing return for someone with such a long career and so many opportunities at the elite European powerhouses.

Who's above him from this generation of strikers?

Lewandowski, Suarez, Rooney(not a pure striker; this one is a bit more debatable because Wayne declined early) definitely.


Benzema and Ibra would be debatable because Benzema had poor statistics and inconsistent finishing for a long time but Benzema had that immense CL campaign and raised his game after Ronaldo left so Benzema edges it. Benzema has better mentality than Ibrahimovic.


What about Aguero?

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

I'm not sure how well this argument holds up to scrutiny - I'd say his Inter years were a big disappointment in the CL but otherwise he's scored versus City, Barca, Chelsea (2), Ars (3), Leverkusen (2) and Stuttgart + got assisted versus Chelsea, AC Milan, Real, Stuttgart, Ars (2) and Barca (3) in the knock out rounds.

Who would you put above him from this generation?

That’s over many seasons, Mbappé has twice as many goals as Ibra already for example. What’s his best game/moment in the knockouts? He doesn’t have a game like Lewandowski’s 4 against Real Madrid or Henry’s dribble against Madrid, Benzema’s games against Chelsea and Man City.

I would say he’s behind Suarez, Lewandowski and Benzema.

 

[tomaldinho1]

That's a very disappointing return for someone with such a long career and so many opportunities at the elite European powerhouses.

Who's above him from this generation of strikers?

Lewandowski, Suarez, Rooney(not a pure striker; this one is a bit more debatable because Wayne declined early) definitely.


Benzema and Ibra would be debatable because Benzema had poor statistics and inconsistent finishing for a long time but Benzema had that immense CL campaign and raised his game after Ronaldo left so Benzema edges it. Benzema has better mentality than Ibrahimovic.


What about Aguero?

That's a quite sensible list. Rooney is hard to categorise but as an all round player he's better than basically anyone in my opinion, bar the obvious 2. The question there is is he a CF, is he a 10, is he am AM, I'd also think of Benzema in this category. The thing with Ibra I think people overlook is how he developed and how good he was at dribbling before becoming more of a 9. I do think his constant moves and time spent as PSG really do cloud how good at football he was.

I'd say best of that era as 9's are Suarez, Lewa, Ibra in that order probably. And I'd say Ibra was comfortably a better football player than Lewa all round but you can't ignore Lewa's consistency albeit he basically played for Bayern the bulk of his career so you would expect extremely high stats.

Then I'd say you have guys like Cavani, Aguero, Falcao,

 

[tomaldinho1]

That’s over many seasons, Mbappé has twice as many goals as Ibra already for example. What’s his best game/moment in the knockouts? He doesn’t have a game like Lewandowski’s 4 against Real Madrid or Henry’s dribble against Madrid, Benzema’s games against Chelsea and Man City.

I would say he’s behind Suarez, Lewandowski and Benzema.

Yes but Mbappe is being talked about as a potential GOAT, if that's your bar, you immediately are comparing him to Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona etc. If we say Henry (obviously) and Lewa are better than him, that's fair, even add in Benzema and, as above, Suarez, he's in the top 5 strikers of a period of over a decade which surely makes him amongst the best of all time when you specifically talk about CFs? He's going to be top 15, maybe even top 10 on most people's lists behind the obvious big names.

 

[WeePat]

Overrated:

1. Zidane: He was elegant and eye catching but he was never the top 5 ever level which is claimed by some.

2. Pique: He was one of the principal beneficiaries of tikitaka; it shielded him from direct encounters with forwards. Slow, poor positioning, easily beaten 1v1. I remember so many goals conceded by Barcelona in big games purely because of how poor he was. Yet, he is talked about as a great defender.

3. Rashford: Never the world beating talent some claim him to be.

4. R9: This is a controversial one. He was amazing before his knee gave away but the nostalgia makes some to elevate him to an even higher level. He is slightly overrated although still an all time great talent.

5. Cristiano: Another controversial one. He is an all time great but some tend to overrate him even beyond that by exaggerating some of his ability outside goalscoring. For me, most of his greatness across his career has been about scoring goals (long distance, free kicks, headers, counters, poached goals name it) not creating or dribbling as claimed by some. His 06/07 was amazing though.

Underrated:

1. Griezmann: A very important player for club and country.

2. Scholes: in England he is underrated.

3. Roy Keane: People only remember the hard man but he had far more yo his game than is given credit for.

I think he belongs in the overrated category personally. Especially post retirement.

 

[giorno]

If he's rated fairly then I'd argue Toney and Isak are overrated as I think he's better than them.

Isak is better for great teams. Otherwise, yeah, same level

Zidane, Kaka, Henry, Rivaldo?

Zidane maybe, the other 3 don't come close

Agree with James. When he left Porto for Monaco he wasn't even a consistent player. He would sit on the bench for plenty of games at that Porto team.

I want to disagree but he just didn't have the head for football in the end. James was as good as De Bruyne when he wanted to be

 

[DWelbz19]

OVERRATED

Pedri: Slow and weak and extremely indecisive in the final third. Always plays it safe. He has major stamina issues and looks extremely tired around the 60 minute mark. He's the player profile that appeals to modern Football fans which is exactly what made him so comically overrated. People see a diminutive Spanish technician and just go "He's the next Iniesta/Xavi"; also injury prone and has poor presence against high quality European opposition.

Marcus Rashford: The conversations around Rashford always seem like he's one of the best players and biggest stars in the league. His PR team has done an amazing job in portraying him as this iconic, World Class future United legend. I firmly believe United can never win a league with Rashford as a starter. He lacks consistency, is limited and his work rate is pathetic for someone who isn't an elite attacker. Only truly elite attackers are allowed to be that lazy and entitled. Just a decent Premier League player. Will never be truly World Class.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Only just retired so he counts! Great player but nowhere near as good as he or his PR team thinks he is. There's a slight overlap between certain Football Fans and those edgy teenagers who idolize Andrew Tate. This is the exact demographic that laps up Zlatan's cringeworthy quotes and "jokes" which were amusing 15 years back but now it's just stale, boring and sad really. For someone who keeps on rambling about "Lion mentality", Zlatan did routinely disappear from big games and CL knockouts throughout his career. More than half of his career goals are in the French, Dutch, Swedish and American leagues. Total Flat-track bully. There are so many better players than him from his generation alone.

UNDERRATED

Wataru Endo: Absolute bargain for Liverpool. Solid DM with great ball winning ability and very high Football IQ. Great in the air and keeps it simple on the ball instead of making silly schoolboy errors. Very mature and always a nightmare to play against. His performance nullifying De Bruyne was amazing. Smart, hardworking and has a huge impact when he plays. Been one of the best DMs in the league this season.

Ilkay Gundogan: It's about time we talk about Gundogan as one of the finest midfielders of his generation. His body of work is really impressive. Did great at Dortmund and won trophies. Went to City and was an integral part of their success for a long time. Now, he's been really impressive for Barcelona and is turning up when they need him the most. Performed at a high level in 3 different leagues. Very well rounded player and extremely clutch. Always seems to score in the biggest and most important games. Fantastic player who deserves way more respect.

Robert Lewandowski: A finished Robert Lewandowski has better numbers than most World Class attackers have in their peaks. Came into a new league where Barca were struggling and won them trophies and already has around 75 Goal Contributions(56G + 19A) in a season and a half. Staggering record at every level and will end his career at well above 700 career goals. Impeccable consistency and fitness record throughout his career. His career speaks for itself really. Imagine the hype if he was Brazilian, French, English, etc! One of the greatest to ever do it.

Pedri and Rashford overrated and Lewandowksi underrated, heh.

 

[WeePat]

Overrated: Conor Gallagher

I don't get it. Chelsea fans and the media have done an excellent propaganda job on him. Top player apparently yet no one can name any standout qualities of his that aren't based around how much he can run. Spurs fans were clamouring for us to blow £50m on him (he presses so well they all cried). I'm convinced that the only reason they've talked themselves into believing that is that they think it would mean us getting one over on Chelsea, when in actuality he's not good enough for where Chelsea want to be, nor us. He also looks annoyingly like Jordan Henderson with a man bun.

Chelsea fans are very divided on him actually. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone class him as a 'top player' apart from maybe someone like Joe Cole. He is very good though. I think he's rated fairly pretty much everywhere I look. He only seems overrated because he gets the occasional start for England when people think it's completely undeserved.

 

[chomsky89]

He never was an off the charts dribbler.
I feel that players like Kempes, Gullit, Ibra, R9 to name some, were better or at least on pair big dribblers and even slightly tall fellas like Robben too...that doesn't mean better goalscorers, faster, etc.
He is a bit stiff in his dribbling, he never kind of knew were he would end if he tried taking on many far from the rivals area.

He may look a bit stiff, but I would call it much-needed energy-saving. If CR7 tried to imitate pre-weight gain R-9 or Robben's dribbling style I suspect he would never last 90 minutes when you look at his position on the pitch, expectations, and his size. When you look at players who were tall, and had great ball control but got significantly heavier in their career, it changed their movement/dribbling style massively even though they had as good ball control as before.

Look at the video of Ibra's goals in the Champions League. He never scored a goal or even moved similar to his goal vs Lyon or Celta Vigo after leaving ajax, as he packed on 10 kg of muscles shortly after. Your body can handle those light dancing steps combined with direction change up until a certain point when you're forced to move more narrowly

 

[AjaxCunian]

Yes but Mbappe is being talked about as a potential GOAT, if that's your bar, you immediately are comparing him to Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona etc. If we say Henry (obviously) and Lewa are better than him, that's fair, even add in Benzema and, as above, Suarez, he's in the top 5 strikers of a period of over a decade which surely makes him amongst the best of all time when you specifically talk about CFs? He's going to be top 15, maybe even top 10 on most people's lists behind the obvious big names.

Who talks about Mbappe as a potential GOAT? Even Ronaldo and Messi are sometimes being doubted, and it seems Mbappe will get nowhere near them. Doesn't matter how many goals he scores.

 

[André Dominguez]

I want to disagree but he just didn't have the head for football in the end. James was as good as De Bruyne when he wanted to be

On tough games he was usually at the bench because he could become a liability for porto.
In fact Varela and Belluschi were pretty much ahead of him on the choosing order on big games at porto.
Against teams who parked the bus he was a great joker, though.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Who talks about Mbappe as a potential GOAT? Even Ronaldo and Messi are sometimes being doubted, and it seems Mbappe will get nowhere near them. Doesn't matter how many goals he scores.

Literally most people?

 

[DWelbz19]

Overrated: Gabriel Jesus. When Arsenal signed him from City, the narrative was 'well that's Arsenal's striker problem resolved'. When you bring up his poor finishing, Arsenal fans will say he's their Firmino as he'll create space for others. Now he's having Kai Havert start ahead of him.

Agree with this one.

Underrated:
1. Griezmann: A very important player for club and country.

Agree with this one. He's had some mega seasons over the past 5-6 years -- his issue is 1. a lack of silverware and 2. the Barcelona move was absolutely dreadful from a stylistic perspective.
--------
An underrated player who will probably get a bit better praise once he retires is honestly Romelu Lukaku. He's far from a world beater, but he's definitely in a tier above your average level no.9s. Ended up in top 20 for all time PL top scorers, pretty insane record for the Belgian NT (I'd maybe even argue he was the most consistent performer of their Golden Generation) and had two high level seasons for Inter Milan when he first went there.

Think the main issues are he tanked here and Chelsea, and personality wise -- he's a fecking knob -- which really leaves a sour taste for most people, but I do think he's a better player than general perception.

 

[Rojofiam]

Underrated: A lot of United players on here

Overrated: Julian Alvarez is nowhere near what his trophy cabinet and reputation suggests

 

[WeePat]

Overrated: Gabriel Jesus. When Arsenal signed him from City, the narrative was 'well that's Arsenal's striker problem resolved'. When you bring up his poor finishing, Arsenal fans will say he's their Firmino as he'll create space for others. Now he's having Kai Havert start ahead of him.

I think it was the start to the season he had in the first season that tipped the scales way too far into the hyperbole. I was guilty of that myself. He seemed like a such a perfect fit for the team and he started the season on fire. I still think he's an excellent player, and stylistically he's my favourite type of striker.

 

[AjaxCunian]

Literally most people?

Never seen anyone talk about him as a potential GOAT, future ballon d'or winner yes, maybe that he will better than Henry, or the best French player (he'd have to surpass Platini/Zidane/Fontaine). But GOAT, no one in their right mind has considered that I think.

 

[giorno]

On tough games he was usually at the bench because he could become a liability for porto.
In fact Varela and Belluschi were pretty much ahead of him on the choosing order on big games at porto.
Against teams who parked the bus he was a great joker, though.

I've seen bin at Real Madrid, what can I tell you, his top level was absurd. Too bad he didn't care enough

I think it was the start to the season he had in the first season that tipped the scales way too far into the hyperbole. I was guilty of that myself. He seemed like a such a perfect fit for the team and he started the season on fire. I still think he's an excellent player, and stylistically he's my favourite type of striker.

He was their best player early on and a catalyst for their exponential growth into title challengers, but the team outgrew him after he got injured

 

[giorno]

Never seen anyone talk about him as a potential GOAT, future ballon d'or winner yes, maybe that he will better than Henry, or the best French player (he'd have to surpass Platini/Zidane/Fontaine). But GOAT, no one in their right mind has considered that I think.

Mbappé has been consistently talked about as a potential GOAT, or GOAT-adjacent, yeah. Don't know where you live or what media you consume, but I've never seen anybody compare him to Henry, except stylistically. He was drawing Ronaldo comparisons at 18 ffs

 

[tomaldinho1]

Never seen anyone talk about him as a potential GOAT, future ballon d'or winner yes, maybe that he will better than Henry, or the best French player (he'd have to surpass Platini/Zidane/Fontaine). But GOAT, no one in their right mind has considered that I think.

He has every chance of ending his career as all time CL scorer, he already has a WC and the golden boot from the WC. Ballon d'or means very little in reality, it's journalists voting and he'll likely clean up given he's going to Real. What matters is what you can see which is a highly technical player who is not solely reliant on his speed, he's an elite finisher already, scores bangers, beats people for fun and likely has 5-8 years left at this top level.

A question to you would be who, if you have to pick a single player today, is the most likely to catch Ronaldo's CL goal record and rival Messi/Ronaldo's output?

 

[chomsky89]

He has every chance of ending his career as all time CL scorer

I wouldn't say his odds are so good regarding that currently. Even if we add an expected increase of 0.10 goals per game and say he will keep it for the rest of his CL career, he would still need 124 games to be number 1. He has to avoid any injury to even be a starter in the CL 120 games in the future I suspect.

 

[Gehrman]

He was the best dribbler in the world from 2006-2009.

That was clearly Messi. Actually those years were Messi's dribbling peak. Had on average 7-9 completeld dribbles pr. Game. In Ronaldo's peak dribbling season before 2006 he averaged 4 pr. Game. And Ronaldo's dribbling dropped after the 2006/7 season.

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

That was clearly Messi. Actually those years were Messi's dribbling peak. Had on average 9 completeld dribbles pr. Game. In Ronaldo's peak dribbling season before 2006 he averaged 4 pr. Game. And Ronaldo's dribbling dropped after the 2006/7 season.

Fair enough. I'll hold my hands up and admit I didn't watch much of Messi until around 08-09. However if you look at the poster I was responding to, he claimed that Ronaldo was an overrated dribbler, which is an absurd thing to say for anyone who watched him breakthrough at United.

 

[Gehrman]

Fair enough. I'll hold my hands up and admit I didn't watch much of Messi until around 08-09. However if you look at the poster I was responding to, he claimed that Ronaldo was an overrated dribbler, which is an absurd thing to say for anyone who watched him breakthrough at United.

I think it depends on how where you rate him. He went from being a great to good to somewhat average dribbler over his career. In his era i think Messi obviously, but also Hazard, Neymar, Ribery, Aguero, Robben And Iniesta were better than him. Possibly Di Maria as well. In terms of dribbling he is a great of his generation but all.time falls pretty flat.

 

[Alpha 1]

I didn't watch much of Messi in 2006-07 but I don't recall him being spoken about on the same level as Ronaldo and Kaka that season. Either way - Ronaldo was definitely in the top 3 dribblers in the world from 2006-2009.

To claim that Ronaldo's dribbling ability has become overrated is bizarre (unless we're only referring to the Ronaldo we saw in his 30s).

Messi finished 3rd in the ballon d'or in 2007 despite spending alot of time on the treatment table. If you weren't hearing about him, it's because you are too premier league centric. But, if you watched him, when fit, his allround play was already better than Kaka's and Cristiano's.

Having said that, interms of dribbling and general approach play, Ronaldo's best season was 06/07 and for me (given Messi's injury issues), he was the bpitw for most of the season. 07/08 was decent interms of dribbling but what stood out by far was his goals as was the case during his prime years at Madrid, 08/09 wasn't really good.

Mbappé has been consistently talked about as a potential GOAT, or GOAT-adjacent, yeah. Don't know where you live or what media you consume, but I've never seen anybody compare him to Henry, except stylistically. He was drawing Ronaldo comparisons at 18 ffs

No he hasn't. He has been talked about as the bpitw although personally I don't think one can make that claim given he plays in France.

The R9 comparisons were due to the explosiveness but Mbappe wasn't as good technically.

 

[Son]

OVERRATED

Pedri: Slow and weak and extremely indecisive in the final third. Always plays it safe. He has major stamina issues and looks extremely tired around the 60 minute mark. He's the player profile that appeals to modern Football fans which is exactly what made him so comically overrated. People see a diminutive Spanish technician and just go "He's the next Iniesta/Xavi"; also injury prone and has poor presence against high quality European opposition.

Marcus Rashford: The conversations around Rashford always seem like he's one of the best players and biggest stars in the league. His PR team has done an amazing job in portraying him as this iconic, World Class future United legend. I firmly believe United can never win a league with Rashford as a starter. He lacks consistency, is limited and his work rate is pathetic for someone who isn't an elite attacker. Only truly elite attackers are allowed to be that lazy and entitled. Just a decent Premier League player. Will never be truly World Class.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Only just retired so he counts! Great player but nowhere near as good as he or his PR team thinks he is. There's a slight overlap between certain Football Fans and those edgy teenagers who idolize Andrew Tate. This is the exact demographic that laps up Zlatan's cringeworthy quotes and "jokes" which were amusing 15 years back but now it's just stale, boring and sad really. For someone who keeps on rambling about "Lion mentality", Zlatan did routinely disappear from big games and CL knockouts throughout his career. More than half of his career goals are in the French, Dutch, Swedish and American leagues. Total Flat-track bully. There are so many better players than him from his generation alone.

UNDERRATED

Wataru Endo: Absolute bargain for Liverpool. Solid DM with great ball winning ability and very high Football IQ. Great in the air and keeps it simple on the ball instead of making silly schoolboy errors. Very mature and always a nightmare to play against. His performance nullifying De Bruyne was amazing. Smart, hardworking and has a huge impact when he plays. Been one of the best DMs in the league this season.

Ilkay Gundogan: It's about time we talk about Gundogan as one of the finest midfielders of his generation. His body of work is really impressive. Did great at Dortmund and won trophies. Went to City and was an integral part of their success for a long time. Now, he's been really impressive for Barcelona and is turning up when they need him the most. Performed at a high level in 3 different leagues. Very well rounded player and extremely clutch. Always seems to score in the biggest and most important games. Fantastic player who deserves way more respect.

Robert Lewandowski: A finished Robert Lewandowski has better numbers than most World Class attackers have in their peaks. Came into a new league where Barca were struggling and won them trophies and already has around 75 Goal Contributions(56G + 19A) in a season and a half. Staggering record at every level and will end his career at well above 700 career goals. Impeccable consistency and fitness record throughout his career. His career speaks for itself really. Imagine the hype if he was Brazilian, French, English, etc! One of the greatest to ever do it.

You can’t use the thing about Ibra scoring goals in worse divisions then count Lewandowski’s strengths as the same reason.

Ibra never truly got the chance to dominate Europe at any point apart from his year in Barcelona (when he was played on the wing and fell out with Pep).

Ibra when he played in Serie A was a very special player. He dominated a division tougher than anything Lewandowski has played in week to week.

Lewa pips him club wise ‘maybe’ because of his European record… but he played in a stacked Bayern squad…

Ibrahimovic scored more beautiful goals and won just as many trophies in less stacked squads apart from the PSG years domestically.

Ibrahimovic also left more of a mark on the game in international football. His brilliance really outshone anything Lewandowski ever managed for Poland.

Don’t get me wrong both are very equal I think in skill terms. It’s tough to choose between them. Both are two of the all time greatest players. I think if anything both will be underrated in the future due to Messi and Ronaldo.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I wouldn't say his odds are so good regarding that currently. Even if we add an expected increase of 0.10 goals per game and say he will keep it for the rest of his CL career, he would still need 124 games to be number 1. He has to avoid any injury to even be a starter in the CL 120 games in the future I suspect.

I was about to reply but then realised I'm not sure how the new format works, he would have been guaranteed 6 games a season minimum (let's be honest, they will always qualify) and likely at least 1-2 knock out rounds in a bad year but I don't know how the new setup will work. It will be tough but as long as he can fill his boots versus some weak teams he has a chance.