The top AP Global Soccer ranking’s player of the week is Lionel Messi, an expected name in the soccer fraternity, and his club Barcelona is ranked as number 1 soccer club according to The Associated Press’ panel of 20 global soccer journalists. Messi earned 183 points out of 200 maximum; he shifted last week’s winner Paris Saint-Germain’s striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to second spot this week; he had 124 points this week. Besides, Messi and Ibrahimovic, another Barcelona player Andres Iniesta got 119 points placing him on the third spot for the week. Another milestone for Messi is in the making as he only shorts three goals to beat all-time great Gerd Mueller’s record of 85 goals in a calendar year. Messi missed last week’s top position coz Ibrahimovic scored four goals for Sweden against England, but this week; there was no competition for the finest soccer starlet in contemporary football. Barcelona is also comfortable at its top position with its 176 points. It leads second position holder Bayern by 47 points and from third place holder Dortmund by 71 points. AC Milan is the obvious choice for fourth place after its 1-0 win over Serie A leader Juventus along with another victory over Anderlecht.
Interestingly, Real Madrid after a defeat from Real Betis last Sunday slipped to 24th place. Moreover, there is no English team in top five, for the first time since this ranking system began. An unknown English team West Bromwich Albion, which is on third place in EPL, found a space in top 10 by securing eighth place for itself – only few points behind Manchester United. Tenth place is well deserved by Sanfrecce Hiroshima, current J-League champion. Here is the final list of this week’s top ten players and teams:
Top Ten Players
1. Lionel Messi, 183 points.
2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 124 points.
3. Andres Iniesta, 119 points.
4. Robert Lewandowski, 83 points.
5. Mario Gotze, 63 points.
6. Philippe Mexes, 50 points.
7. Jordi Gomez, 35 points.
7. Toni Kroos, 35 points.
9. Willian, 28 points.
10. Radamel Falcao, 22 points.
Top Ten Teams
1. Barcelona, 176 points.
2. Bayern Munich, 129 points.
3. Borussia Dortmund, 105 points.
4. AC Milan, 98 points.
5. Atletico Madrid, 80 points.
6. Paris Saint-Germain, 55 points.
7. Manchester United, 49 points.
8. West Bromwich Albion, 42 points.
9. FC Porto, 32 points.
10. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, 30 points.