THE 50 BEST FOOTBALLERS IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW RANKED, ACCORDING TO FOOTBALL MANAGER 2021

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo have both been named in the top three best players in world football right now, according to Football Manager 2021.

Developer Sports Interactive's latest instalment in the fan-favourite football franchise dropped last month for PC, macOS and mobile devices.

And FM21, which is also available on Xbox Series X and Xbox One, has now been used to reveal the 50 best players in world football.

Football Manager's extraordinary database has data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs.

The Daily Mirror has now tapped into the FM database to find out which players would rank inside the top 50 footballers in the world.

FM's database awards each player with a value out of 200 based on current ability and potential ability.

The list below are the 50 best players in world football right now, according to FM21.

The 50 Best Footballers In The World Right Now Ranked, According To Football Manager 2021, in descending order. 

50. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli): current ability -- 164/200

49. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio): current ability -- 164/200

48. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund): current ability -- 164/200

47. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal): current ability -- 164/200

46. Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain): current ability -- 164/200

45. Miralem Pjanic (Barcelona): current ability -- 164/200

44. Fernandinho (Manchester City): current ability -- 164/200

43. Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona): current ability -- 165/200

42. Wojciech Szczesny (Zebre/Juventus): current ability -- 165/200

41. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid): current ability -- 165/200

40. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea): current ability -- 165/200

39. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 165/200

38. Casemiro (Real Madrid): current ability -- 166/200

37. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan): current ability -- 167/200

36. Paul Pogba (Manchester United): current ability -- 167/200

35. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur): current ability -- 167/200

34. Luka Modric (Real Madrid): current ability -- 167/200

33. David Silva (Real Sociedad): current ability -- 168/200

32. Ederson (Manchester City): current ability -- 168/200

30. Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 169/200

29. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool): current ability -- 169/200

28. Paulo Dybala (Zebre/Juventus): current ability -- 170/200
27. Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid): current ability -- 170/200

26. Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 170/200

25. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City): current ability -- 170/200

24. David Alaba (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 171/200

23. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City): current ability -- 171/200

22. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 171/200

21. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City): current ability -- 172/200

20. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid): current ability -- 172/200

19. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid): current ability -- 174/200

18. Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona): current ability -- 174/200

17. Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona): current ability -- 175/200

16. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid): current ability -- 175/200

15. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid): current ability -- 175/200

14. Alisson (Liverpool): current ability -- 175/200

13. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City): current ability -- 178/200

12. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 178/200

11. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): current ability -- 178/200

10. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool): current ability -- 179/200

9. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool): current ability -- 180/200

8. Sadio Mane (Liverpool): current ability -- 180/200

7. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain): current ability -- 181/200

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain): current ability -- 181/200

5. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur): current ability -- 182/200

4. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich): current ability -- 184/200

3. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City): current ability -- 188/200

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Zebre/Juventus): current ability -- 194/200

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona): current ability -- 195/200