10 Best European Players in Football Right Now [Ranked]

Many around the sport deem the level of European football as the highest in the world, with showpiece competitions, leagues and superb individual talents attracting eyes from all across the globe. Alongside the finest collection of players, Europe has gifted some great footballing schools of thought and philosophies, with many of these being evident in a team’s identity as soon as the squads cross the chalky white lines.

From the likes of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland who had wonderful domestic campaigns in 2023-24 to Lamine Yamal and Rodri who starred at Euro 2024 for Spain, the level of European footballers couldn’t be any higher. Read on, as GIVEMESPORT analyse the 10 best players from the top five leagues who perch coolly at the summit of the beautiful game.

10 Alex Grimaldo

Bayer Leverkusen

Alex Grimaldo was a crucial part of Xabi Alonso’s superb Bayer Leverkusen side and provided some unbelievable numbers from the left wing-back position as the side nearly went unbeaten in all competitions. As Die Werkself romped to an historic first Bundesliga title, Grimaldo registered 23 direct goal involvements in 33 games – with 10 goals and 13 assists.

Although not ranking higher in this list purely down to his handful of caps so far, and lack of involvement in Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 campaign, Grimaldo has still had brilliant recent seasons. He’s also shown similar tenacity to midfielder Dani Olmo, taking a less travelled route to get to the top. He left Barcelona’s academy in 2015 and plied his trade with Benfica, winning four league titles amid nine honours before moving to the BayArena at the start of this season.

9 Nico Williams

Athletic Club

The younger brother of teammate Inaki, 21-year-old Nico Williams has joined his sibling in representing Athletic Bilbao proudly. The now-established winger utilises jaw-dropping pace and dribbling trickery to burst past markers, and has arguably had his most impressive individual season yet.

Williams has intertwined the glory of his Copa del Rey victory, in which he got three goals and five assists in a mere six games, with La Liga performances and, of course, a Euro 2024 crown with Spain. As Bilbao finished fifth, he notched four goals but turned heads as a supplementary figure with 12 assists from the right side, as the second-best creator last term. For a victorious Spain, the €50million-rated man proved to be integral – scoring two important goals and grabbing an assist in the tournament as La Roja marched past England to victory.

8 Florian Wirtz

Bayer Leverkusen

Florian Wirtz has been a phenomenon for Bayer Leverkusen. In 2023-24, he made up for lost minutes due to a horrible ACL injury in March 2022, and scored 11 and assisted 12 as Leverkusen dethroned Bayern Munich from the top of the Bundesliga pile.

Possessing a well-rounded skillset that any midfielder would die for, Wirtz was a leading light for Germany at their home Euros, yet couldn’t inspire total greatness as Die Mannschaft lost to eventual champions Spain. While Spain have their extraordinary crop of Nico Williams and Yamal, the power duo of Wirtz and Jamal Musiala hints at a brilliant jostle for footballing power in the next few years.

7 Erling Haaland

Manchester City

Erling Haaland feels like a player that was created in some sort of underground bunker. While pundits have noticed a number of missed chances in front of goal last term, it still says something that he wrapped up another Premier League Golden Boot award with 27 goals. A massively successful star already, he has cemented himself among the finest finishing forwards in world football.

He was missing at the Euros this summer with Norway’s failure to qualify, and that’s likely something on his mind. Domestically and individually however, at 23 years old, he’s well on his way to stocking up his trophy cabinet – and if personal performances continue, Norwegian successes will likely follow. After all, Haaland is the only player in Premier League history to score at least 25 goals in each of his first two seasons in the competition.

6 Harry Kane

Bayern Munich

He may still be looking for his maiden trophy in professional football despite his appearances in six finals, yet Harry Kane has continued scoring goals for fun since switching his loyal Spurs tenure for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.

Elevated from a simple scorer, to a leading light up top for any team he plays for, Harry Kane has, again, come close to triumph with the recent Euros showpiece against Spain. Sadly for Kane, that game ended with the same connotations as his first Bayern season – missing out on glory to a young dynamic team. However, from an individual point of view in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, the Englishman could hardly have done much more, scoring 36 in 32 league games, as well as eight in 12 on the continent.

5 Lamine Yamal

FC Barcelona

Lamine Yamal’s quality cannot be stressed enough, given his meagre age of just 17. It’s quite unbelievable to think he’s just completed his first season of senior football, and if it’s anything to go by, he’ll be in and around some of the most memorable matches for years to come.

There’s a reason why Barcelona handed the now-17-year-old his debut at the age of 15, and he repaid that opportunity with five goals and five assists in 37 games as the Catalonians finished second. He stepped up with Spain as Pedri and Gavi struggled with injuries, and coolly added to a fine season with an amazing goal against France in the semi-final and four assists in the tournament – the last of which was for the first goal of the final. Rightfully the Young Player of the Tournament, Yamal’s career path could be brilliant, especially if he keeps on course after his astronomical rise.

4 Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich

After his superb full breakthrough in 2020-21, Jamal Musiala has consistently proven himself as one of the finest footballers, let alone young footballers, in world football. With four Bundesligas arriving already with Bayern Munich, as well as a slew of other domestic trimmings, Musiala is easily one of the most enjoyable footballers to watch.

While it’s agonising the mazy dribbler eventually picked Die Mannschaft over England, one can still easily appreciate his quality. The speed at which his brain moves, is only matched by that of his feet. Like Wirtz, Musiala was unfortunate to clash with a somewhat inevitably victorious Spain team. However, as he consistently improves, Germany look to be in good stead for many tournaments to come. It’ll be intriguing to see the heights Musiala reaches in 2024-25, especially when spurred on by Bayer Leverkusen’s fairy tale success against the Bayern machine last term.

3 Kylian Mbappe

Real Madrid

Often bearing the weight of both club and country on his strong shoulders, Kylian Mbappe enters with an exciting prospect ahead for 2024-25. A move to Real Madrid turns a new page for the former PSG man, and now, many eyes are fixed to his next move. An underwhelming Euros, yet can likely be forgiven as France were a truly uninspiring outfit.

Madrid also presents another challenge for Mbappe, and that’s sharing the load. In Paris, Mbappe was a huge part of the club’s identity – now however, he moves to a bigger institution in Los Blancos, and will have to cater to the Spanish press, as well as the power dynamic within a superteam comprised of Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, and Jude Bellingham to name a few. That said, now freed from the speculation and controversy of his French exit that saw staggered game time, the prolific forward has a great chance to win an illusive Champions League crown in this upcoming term.

2 Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid

Like a number of young professionals who feature on this list, it is simply baffling how much quality oozes from Jude Bellingham. At just 21 years of age, his style and effective brand of midfield mastery has seen him ascend from the throws of the Football League, to the black and yellow dynamism of the Bundesliga.

Now seemingly a part of the furniture at the Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder-stroke-forward has bedded in brilliantly at Madrid – winning the La Liga title as well as the Champions League against his old club Borussia Dortmund. While success has yet to come in his formative England career, his consistent domestic masterclasses point to a bright future with the Three Lions, who of course, have already seen a huge bicycle kick moment to help cement progression to the quarter-final of the Euros. Like Mbappe before him, there has been a huge weight on his shoulders – one that he has readily welcomed. Yet with the ever-shifting Real Madrid dynamics, questions remain as to what heady heights he can reach next season.

1 Rodri

Manchester City

From one imperious midfielder to er, a more imperious one – Rodri is, of course, one of the men of the moment at the time of writing. Having just lifted the European Championship trophy with Spain, Rodri has rubberstamped a recent chokehold on world football.

As this site has gushed before, defensive midfielders often don’t get the credit they deserve, so when one stands out enough to be named the Champions League Player of the Season, finish fifth in the Ballon d’Or rankings, as well as being hotly tipped for the next award, you know they’re a special player.

Rodri’s performances are always of a consistently high standard, exhibiting a dexterous ability to score, assist and defend readily. His continuous ever-presence as Manchester City won the treble last term shone a spotlight on his unsung heroics, and how many should look to play the position for years to come – while the winning goal in the Champions League final – a typically cool finish from the edge of the box – thrust him to centre stage.

If not acclimatised already, Rodri’s centre stage antics hsve extended to a headliner tour, as he added to a Spanish Nations League victory with the Euro crown in Berlin. With Rodri leading an exciting Spain entity going forward, La Roja could contend for some serious silverware.

All statistics from Transfermarkt. Correct as of 15.07.24