Summary
Opta used its power rankings to rate the world’s 30 top football teams.
Napoli and Chelsea make the list despite poor league achievements in 2023/24.
Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen are among the top ten teams, defending their league titles following successful seasons.
What qualifies a team as the best in the world? It’s a somewhat subjective question. Sure, the number of wins and trophies a club has won in recent years can be a helpful sign, but in a sport where anyone can beat anyone, it seems like a difficult task to pick just one side that stands out above the others. After all, comparing clubs from various leagues is just guesswork.
Manchester United, for example, has never faced Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr team. And, while many people believe the former will easily win, it is very difficult to know for certain. Admittedly, it’s subjective, and there’s no right or wrong response – but everyone could benefit from some guidance from the experts at Opta, who have calculated – and recently revised – their power rankings.
An Elo algorithm, which examines results from over 2.5 million games, assigns a rating to that team that is comparable to other teams around the world. Points are decided by in-league ratings, a division’s total rating, a country’s rating, and the continent on which a team competes.
With that in mind, here are the 30 best teams in world football right now, their performance in European competitions in previous seasons, and why they are ranked where they are. Spoiler alert: because of how turbulent the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been, the aforementioned Red Devils are now ranked 40th.
World’s Best Teams: 30th-21st Fulham, Nottingham Forest, and Tottenham in the top 30.
Fulham joins the top 30 as they continue their fantastic run under Marco Silva. AS Roma, led by Claudio Ranieri, are ranked 29th; the Italian understands what it’s like to win major titles and will be hoping to do again this season. For the time being, the Italian capital’s team is ranked 90.2.
Brighton have swiftly become the Premier League’s darlings because to their excellent football and precise, yet wise, recruitment. The Seagulls made another excellent managerial hire in Fabian Hurzeler, and they were once only four points below the top four. They have not fallen down by seven points.
Nottingham Forest is one place ahead of Brighton. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team has sprung out of nowhere, with a chance to make history by a) securing Champions League football and b) knocking table-topping Liverpool off their perch. If they do one of the following, they will undoubtedly move up this list.
LOSC Lille may be struggling domestically, but their Champions League performance thus far deserves a place in 26th—with a score of 90.6. Unai Emery has consistently impressed with his management of Aston Villa, transforming the Premier League club from top-half contenders to a Champions League-caliber team that ranks just above the aforementioned French side.
Serie A surprise package Bologna is ranked 24th, but any domestic success might propel both teams up the rankings. Tottenham Hotspur has been on an emotional rollercoaster lately, rebounding back from a humbling 2-1 defeat to Ipswich with a 4-0 victory away at Premier League champions Manchester City.
Ange Postecoglou’s job is in peril after a spate of dismal performances, but he can take comfort in his team’s ranking of 23rd in the world. Regardless of their problems on the pitch, players can be proud of their 91.0 score. They still rank lower than a slew of other Premier League teams.
In other news, Bruno Lage’s Benfica are competing with Sporting CP for the top spot in Liga Portugal, and they are currently 22nd with an overall score of 91.2. The latter, on the other hand, is one position ahead of them in terms of Power Ranking, with 91.3. They suffered in the early days of the new manager’s tenure, as evidenced by their 5-1 defeat to Arsenal, but have since turned their fortunes around, amassing an eight-game unbeaten streak across all competitions.
Opta Power Rankings: 30–21
Power Ranking
Team
Rating/100
30.
Fulham
90.2
29.
AS Roma
90.2
28.
Brighton and Hove Albion
90.6
27.
Nottingham Forest
90.6
26.
Lille
90.6
25.
Aston Villa
90.9
24.
Bologna
90.9
23.
Tottenham Hotspur
91.0
22.
Benfica
91.2
21.
Sporting CP
91.3
Chelsea and Juventus are among the world’s best teams, ranking 20th to 11th.
We’ve made it into the top 20, and Athletic Club of La Liga has just slipped below one of Serie A’s surprise surprises, Lazio, to take 20th position. AC Milan comes in 18th with a score of 91.9. For the many European Cup winners, a major victory over Real Madrid strengthened their Champions League status and continues to influence their present standing.
Bournemouth, led by Andoni Iraola, are another surprise entrant from England’s top tier. After leaving Rayo Vallecano, the former midfielder struggled to adjust to the noise and bustle of English football, but his squad is now playing an appealing brand of game, challenging any team that dares to play them. They have a score of 92.3 but are just outside the top 15.
Chelsea also enters the top 20 and, despite an up-and-down start to the current season, is ranked 16th, but their European pedigree keeps them afloat. Under Enzo Maresca, the Blues appeared to be headed in the right direction on all fronts, but have suddenly encountered a stumbling block.
PSV Eindhoven competes with Ajax in the Eredivisie and is only two points behind their domestic rivals at the time of writing. According to Opta, they are 15th in the Power Rankings with a score of 92.7. Newcastle United is currently one of the most in-form Premier League teams, with Eddie Howe leading the way and the talismanic Alexander Isak at the helm. A score of 92.9 makes for pleasant reading, doesn’t it?
Juventus, with a rating of 92.9 and a ranking of 13th, may consider themselves unlucky not to have made the top ten, but their reputation in the European football echo chamber lets them down. The Old Lady is no longer one of the top clubs on the continent or the far superior team in their country.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta is the squad to watch in Italy. Mateo Retegui’s firepower has propelled the team to become a surprise title challenger, while they also nearly missed out on an automatic ticket into the Champions League knockout rounds, trailing Emery’s Villa by one point.
Napoli, led by Antonio Conte, may have been unlucky not to make the top 10 list. The Italian giants are now leading their domestic league, thanks to the signing of Scott McTominay and his all-action exploits. They are invincible at the races, but their lack of European football lowers their overall standing here (11th on 93.6).
Opta Power Rankings: 20-11
Power Ranking
Team
Rating/100
20.
Athletic Club
91.7
19.
Lazio
91.8
18.
AC Milan
91.9
17.
Bournemouth
92.3
16.
Chelsea
92.7
15.
PSV Eindhoven
92.7
14.
Newcastle United
92.9
13.
Juventus
92.9
12.
Atalanta
92.9
11.
Napoli
93.6
World’s Best Teams: 10th–1st
Arne Slot’s supremacy at Liverpool sees them take first place.
The top ten represent the cream of the crop in world football, with every team based in Europe, as one might expect. Bayern Munich, a failed Champions League semi-finalist, has a rating of 95.3 as Vincent Kompany attempts to reclaim the top division crown after their dominant decade-long run in the Bundesliga ended last season.
Harry Kane’s side failed to live up to the expectations many had of the Bavarians when they lost the league crown, but this season, they’ve returned with a vengeance and appear like the team to beat. Atletico Madrid, headed by Diego Simeone, follows with a score of 95.4.
The eighth spot goes to arguably the most in-form squad on the planet last season. In fact, it’s unarguable: they only lost one game last season. What Xabi Alonso has accomplished at Bayer Leverkusen defies description. Their last-gasp 2-2 tie against Roma in the Europa League extended their European unbeaten streak to an all-time high, but they fell short of completing a historic triple.
Manchester City has long been regarded as the side to beat in Europe, ever since Pep Guardiola established his style of play at the Etihad. However, a drop in performance, along with a seven-game winless streak for the first time in the Spaniard’s career, were the first indications that things aren’t as flawless as they once were, and City have slid down the pecking order.
Inter Milan astonished everyone by reaching the Champions League final in 2022/23 and finishing last season, partly thanks to one of Europe’s finest players, Lautaro Martinez, as Italian champions for the 30th time in their history. They’ve followed that up with a solid start to their domestic season, though as previously stated, it’s so tight at the top that Simone Inzaghi will have a difficult time defending his title.
Barcelona has made an excellent start to the current season under the new leadership of Hansi Flick and his well-drilled squad, and the Catalan giants are in fifth place. Lamine Yamal appears to be on track to become the finest player in the world one day, while Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski are doing more than their fair share to help Flick achieve his goals.
Despite losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain remains fourth in the rankings (97.8). The Ligue 1 juggernauts completed a domestic treble with a 2-1 victory against Lyon in the French Cup final at the end of last season, but that has been the norm for the capital club. Mbappe’s departure does not appear to have a significant impact on their domestic prospects.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded squad struggled to mesh with Jude Bellingham and Mbappe on the same team, but it has paid off, as they are now the team to beat at Europe’s top table. The Spanish giants are followed by an Arsenal squad that failed to dethrone Manchester City last time around.
Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled squad will be looking to end Arsenal’s 20-year league title drought when the season finishes, after coming so close two years in a row. It is unclear whether this will be the case.
That puts Liverpool in first place, a monument to Arne Slot’s performance since succeeding the seemingly irreplaceable Jurgen Klopp. Many expected the Dutchman to go through a time of transition at Anfield, but consistent form and the inconsistency of others has resulted in the Reds flying high on all fronts and justifiably being the lords of the castle in world football right now.
Opta Power Rankings: 1st–10th
Power Ranking
Team
Rating/100
10.
Bayern Munich
95.3
9.
Atlético Madrid
95.4
8.
Bayer Leverkusen
95.9
7.
Manchester City
96.2
6.
Inter Milan
97.7
5.
Barcelona
97.8
4.
Paris Saint Germain
97.8
3.
Real Madrid
99.0
2.
Arsenal
99.3
1.
Liverpool
100
