Argentine and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has been named the best playmaker of the past decade, according to Sportsbible.
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) give out a yearly award for the top performer in the role and they elected to use data to determine who was the most productive player between 2011 and 2020.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner dusted arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who occupied the 12th spot on the list with 120 points.
Although, Ronaldo is renowned for his incredible goalscoring abilities but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner couldn’t make the first ten pick.
It was Messi’s incredible dominance in 2015, 2017, 2017 and 2019, that ensured the 33-year-old amass an impressive 174 points.
The closest player to Messi was his long-time Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta on 127, with Luka Modric and Kevin De Bruyne following behind on 113 and 103 respectively.
Toni Kroos is ranked in fifth position with 90 points, ahead of colleague Eden Hazard (77), Neymar (71) and Mesut Ozil (69).
Here is the star-studded top 20 list in full:
1. Lionel Messi – 174 points
2. Andres Iniesta – 127 points
3. Luka Modric – 113 points
4. Kevin De Bruyne – 103 points
5. Toni Kroos – 90 points
6. Eden Hazard – 77 points
7. Neymar – 71 points
8. Mesut Ozil – 69 points
9. Andrea Pirlo – 63 points
10. Yaya Toure – 60 points
11. Xavi Hernandez – 55 points
12. Cristiano Ronaldo – 54 points
13. David Silva – 52 points
14. James Rodriguez – 42 points
15. Bastian Schweinsteiger – 40 points
16. Christian Eriksen – 38 points
17. Riyad Mahrez – 38 points
18. Paul Pogba – 35 points
19. Thiago Alcantara – 33 points
20. Isco – 25 points
