30 Best Football Teams in the World Ranked

What makes a team the best in the world? It’s a rather subjective question. Sure, the amount of wins and trophies a club has won in recent times can be a good indicator, but in a sport where anyone could beat anyone, it feels like a tough ask to pick just one team that trumps the rest. After all, comparing teams from different leagues requires pure guesswork.

As an example, Manchester United have never locked horns with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. And while many may think the former would easily come out on top, it’s practically impossible to know full well. Admittedly, it’s subjective and there is technically no right or wrong answer – but everyone could use some help from the folks over at Opta, who have calculated – and recently updated – their Power Rankings. For an explainer on how their Power Rankings are calculated, please read here.

Had a read through? Good. Let’s run through the 30 greatest teams in world football as things stand – and even better, let’s take a dive into their form, how well they’ve performed in European competitions in seasons gone by and exactly why they are placed where they are.

World’s Best Teams: 30th-21st

Including Chelsea and Napoli

Making the top 30 by the skin of their teeth is Napoli. The reigning Italian champions have done a poor job retaining their crown this season and have failed to win in any of their last four games. Despite that, the 8th placed Serie A side managed to crawl their way into this list by the barest of margins.

They are followed by a Tottenham side who have fallen to pieces in recent times and a Monaco team who are second in Ligue 1. The former were also right at the top of their domestic table as far back as October. Now, it seems Spurs are doing everything they can to not qualify for the Champions League next season. In fact, their poor run of form has seen them drop eight places in Opta’s rankings since last week alone.

Real Socidead and Bologna have been two surprise packages this season and both occupy 27th and 26th place respectively. The Spaniards were impressive during their Champions League campaign, but their league form has meant they will have to settle for Europa League football at best next season. Meanwhile, Thiago Motta’s revolutionary tactics have taken Bologna to 4th in Serie A and led to reported interest from Manchester United

Benfica, Chelsea and Porto follow next, with the two Portuguese sides sandwiching the West London outfit who have been on quite the roll as of now. It has hardly been an impressive season for Chelsea, but just three league defeats in 2024 thus far has seen them quietly climb up both this table and the Premier League. Meanwhile, Benfica and Porto are looking likely to settle for second and third respectively in their domestic league, with Sporting CP the runaway leaders.

The final two teams in this section are two sides with European aspirations going into next season. Athletic Club won the Copa del Rey earlier in the season for the 24th time and currently sit 5th in La Liga, six points behind the Champions League spots. While Europa League football would be far from a failure, the allure of being among Europe’s elite is bound to drive them on.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United have recovered from a ridiculously high injury list for most of the season to be on the brink of unlikely European qualification. The Magpies sit 6th in the Premier League and with Manchester United playing so poorly, Eddie Howe will be hopeful his side can hang on in the final few games.

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World’s Best Teams: 20th-11st

Including AC Milan & Barcelona

Into the top 20 we go, and we start with two teams who have had seasons that have gone beyond their wildest expectations. PSV have made the Eredivisie look like a cakewalk this season, holding an unassailable nine-point lead with two games to go. They are followed by Girona, who have been the talk of the town in Spain for their journey into the Champions League places. Their title charge ran out of steam around February, but the fact they are this close to Tuesday and Wednesday night football is remarkable in itself.

Next is a Roma team who look poised to steal the extra Champions League spot allocated to Serie A for next season. The fortunes in the Italian capital have changed drastically since Jose Mourinho’s departure. Club legend Danielle De Rossi has turned the tide, although his men just crashed out of the Europa League in the semi-final stage having initially fought their way back into the tie. With a 90.0 rating, they sit just 0.2 behind German side Stuttgart in 17th.

The side from Turin, Juventus – with a rating of 90.5, sitting in 16th – may count themselves unlucky not to make the top 10, though their status in the European football echo chamber does let them down. Gone are the days where the Old Lady was one of the best in the continent and the far superior team in their nation. Instead, they, much like AC Milan in 15th, have to watch on as Inter lift another league title after a dominant season. In fact, the latter of the two were the ones who gifted their rivals the championship following a 2-1 defeat to the Nerazzurri.

A team currently just inside the La Liga Champions League slots is Atletico Madrid. The side from the Spanish capital enjoyed a flawless run in their Champions League group but fell to now finalists Borussia Dortmund. Atleti are placed just above Sporting CP, who are top of Liga Nos. Despite their excellent run, it wasn’t enough for Ruben Amorim to convince the higher-ups at Liverpool to take a chance on him.

One half of this season’s Europa League final appears next, as Atalanta secure 12th spot. The Italians did a magnificent job overcoming Liverpool in the quarter-finals of the European competition, but they will be up against it when they take on Xabi Alonso’s German champions Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

There’s also no place in the top 10 for Barcelona. It’s been a tough year for the Catalan giants as they never looked close to retaining their La Liga title. Despite having a 3-2 lead after the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, they crashed out to PSG. Fans may be wondering what if, as they may have been confident about beating Dortmund to reach the final. Funnily enough, though, this defeat seemingly helped Xavi decide to stay as manager until the end of his contract next summer.

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World’s Best Teams: 10th-1st

Including Manchester City, PSG and Bayer Leverkusen

Now we’re onto the creme de la creme of world football, though every member of the top 10 – unsurprisingly – are clubs who reside in Europe. We start with an RB Leipzig side who sit fourth in the Bundesliga with two games remaining. They are just above a Jurgen Klopp Liverpool team who will no longer provide the fairytale ending for their German manager. In fact, it has been quite the opposite, with pitchside fights and disappointing performances marring Klopp’s farewell tour.

Losing out on the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich on the final day of the 2022/23 season was a real sickener for Borussia Dortmund, who also lost to Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16 last season – but that hasn’t stopped them from reaching the Champions League final after some brilliant performances against Atletico Madrid and PSG in the knock-out stages. Jadon Sancho’s return to top form has been a highlight and the perennial underdogs will hope to win their first European Cup since 1997.

The two defeated Champions League semi-finalists are next, with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain sitting 7th and 6th. The latter are expected to wrap up yet another league title, whereas the former’s dominant decade-long run has come to an end as Thomas Tuchel’s side led by Hary Kane have failed to meet the dominant expectations we expect of the Bavarians. They are followed by an Arsenal side who are neck and neck at the top of the Premier League. Having come so close last season, Mikel Arteta will be hoping to end the Gunners 20-year league title drought when the season ends.

In fourth comes arguably the most in form team on the planet. In fact, it’s not arguable. They haven’t lost a game this season. It has to be them. What Xabi Alonso has done at Bayer Leverkusen is beyond explanation. Their last gasp 2-2 draw against Roma in the Europa League gave them the longest European unbeaten run of all-time. With a treble still on the horizon, there is every chance we are witnessing the greatest season in football history.

Inter Milan surprised everyone by reaching the Champions League final in 2022/23 and are now, largely thanks to one of Europe’s top performers this season, Lautaro Martinez, champions of Italy for the 30th time in their history. It has been one of the most dominant league campaigns the Serie A has ever seen, which is saying something.

The star-studded nature of Carlo Ancelotti’s industrious Real Madrid side sees them nick position number two with a rating of 98.7. That is hardly a surprise, as Los Blancos will surely come in as favourites for this season’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. All eyes will be on Jude Bellingham, who has been outstanding during his debut season at the Bernabeu. Will he inflict the ultimate misery on his former employer?

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That leaves Manchester City to take the gold medal. Despite not being in Europe competition or being top of their domestic league, the Cityzens are still given a perfect score of 100. Pep Guardiola, for all of his brilliance, has turned the Manchester-based outfit into an unstoppable force, one that enjoyed treble-winning success last time out. Last season’s success no doubt plays a massive factor in their current ranking, but to say this season has been unsuccessful is a huge mistake. A domestic double is still more than possible for this well-oiled machine.

All Power Rankings courtesy of Opta – correct as of 10/05/2024