We rank because we want power. We want to assess, evaluate, contextualize. We want to tell ourselves (and others) that there's meaning in sports beyond winners and losers, beyond statistics and emotion.
We can all read a box score but, as fans, we want more. We want meaning. We want context. We want an alternate narrative to the statistical tyranny of the numbers found in league tables or scoring charts. Rankings give us a sense of power.
You can't say, for example, that Kylian Mbappé scored more goals than Harry Kane in 2025-26 and, therefore, is a better center forward. But you can say (if you so choose) that Mbappé scored bigger goals in key moments and/or against tougher opponents and/or with a weaker supporting cast and therefore is better.
Your starting point may be irrational or emotional but that's OK. It's sports, it's about irrationality and emotion. But then you go from the initial vibe to a process where you take into account facts and context and what comes out at the other end isn't just finger-in-the-air vibe, it's opinion fortified by fact. And it's opinion that can't be denied. It can be argued against, sure, it may be silly, but it's personal and it's real.
The 2026 FC 100, position by position
Go to: Goalkeeper | Fullbacks | Center backs | Defensive/central midfielders | Attacking midfielders | Wingers | Center forwards
Go to: 2025 | 2024 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016
That's the spirit of the FC 100, now in its 10th year. We gather votes from our ESPN family across all our regions, from Brazil to Australia, from the Americas to Africa, from Asia to Europe: editors, journalists, ex-players, commentators. One person, one vote. And we ask them to rank, taking into account where they play, the levels of success they have achieved (both individual and with their clubs) and the gravitational pull they have accomplished.
Disagree with the outcomes? No problem. That's kind of the point. I certainly do. That's sort of inevitable with rankings of this kind ... just ask the folks at France Football who give out the Ballon d'Or. (Though, perhaps, if you don't like the ranking, take it a little better than Real Madrid did when Vinícius Júnior lost out to Rodri in 2024.)
Don't take it as gospel, but as a measure of popular sentiment among those of us fortunate enough to make a living by watching this sport. And looking back over these past 10 years, there are plenty of talking points, reflecting the way the sport has gone.
No fewer than 15 players have made the list in at least eight of its 10 seasons, a sign that greatness isn't fleeting. Virgil van Dijk, Thibaut Courtois, Joshua Kimmich, Marc-André ter Stegen, Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Antoine Griezmann and Alisson have all largely been mainstays from season to season. (Yes, Walker surprised me too, but it helps when you play for a successful team and win tons of silverware.) Mohamed Salah, Mbappé (more to come from him I guess), Jan Oblak, Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo (that wretched return to Manchester United cost him) made it nine out of 10 times.
And the two ever-presents? Take a bow, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
Looking at it from a club perspective also reflects the past decade, for better -- Real Madrid lead the way with 99 appearances, followed by Manchester City (85) and Barcelona (83) -- and worse: Manchester United (32), Borussia Dortmund (22) and Milan (19) are all outside the top 10, reflecting their hiccups in recent seasons.
Real Madrid reached five Champions League finals -- more than anyone else -- in our time span and are the biggest brand in the game, attracting the biggest, most popular players. Manchester City were champions of the Premier League -- by far the biggest, most-watched domestic league -- six times in that era. And Barcelona won LaLiga, the second most relevant national league globally, five times.
Those other three historic giants? United, Dortmund and Milan? Put all three together and all they really have to show for the past decade's football is a Europa League and Serie A title.
At the bottom of the list are smaller clubs. Some have fallen from top-flight perches (Sampdoria), some were unthinkable just a few years ago (Al Qadsiah). That too is a sign of changing times and the ebbs and flows of the past decade.
Quite telling too is the count by country: France has produced 115 representatives, followed by Spain (108), Brazil (96) and England (89). The talent pipeline is alive and well in those nations.
It's not a coincidence that France, Spain and England have been regulars in World Cup and Euro finals or semifinals in that time span (France becoming world champion in 2018, and Spain in 2026). That success is also a result of heavy investment in youth development and coaching at club level and is reflected in player representation on this list.
And while Brazil may not be living up to their illustrious history -- they last reached a World Cup final in 2002 and all they have to show for the past 19 years is one measly Copa America -- this remains the sport's powerhouse: a country of nearly 200 million people who live for the game and have the traditions, institutions and know-how to grow talent. Maybe not to the heights of the past, but still far more than just about any other.
Contrarians will point out that rankings like these favor big-name players on big-name clubs who achieve big results in big competitions. Well, duh. Nobody has absolute knowledge, nobody watches every game in every league. To make the list, you have to not only shine -- you have to be seen, as well. There were 12 players from Paris Saint-Germain on this year's list. If, instead of winning the Champions League, they had been bounced out in the group stage, how many of them would still be there?
The point of the FC 100 isn't just as a source of debate. For many that will be the main function and that's fine. Watching sport is a collective exercise, a big part of it is the debate that ensues. We all have opinions about what we see, it's the intellectual part to balance out the purely emotional bit.
But it's also a still frame of who we are as football fans. What we value, what we remember, what we cherish. And taken as a whole, over the past decade, it's also a photograph of our journey as fans, the one we take in parallel with our journey as people.