Guardian Top 100 Footballers

[niyi]

List has 3 Nigerians which is the highest since The Guardian began publishing this list yearly.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng ... world-2024

Osimhen (74)

The Nigerian was in the top 10 on this list last year, having led Napoli to the title and finished top of the Serie A scoring charts. But 2024 has been a different story, with Napoli finishing in midtable and Osimhen’s relationship with the club president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, being damaged beyond repair. Chelsea could have been his destination in the summer, but a long transfer saga ended in disagreement, the transfer deadline expired, and the forward eventually had to settle for a loan move to Galatasaray – usually a destination for much older stars. Osimhen has settled nicely in Istanbul, scoring at will in the Super Lig and the Europa League, but he is far from the spotlight. For now, he is 65 places below his 2023 ranking.

Boniface (62)

It is testament to Boniface’s enormous potential that even after winning the Bundesliga and Pokal double with Leverkusen, it feels like there is so much more to come. His 2024 got off to a bad start with a serious thigh injury that kept him out for months, but he returned to contribute to the run-in and started this season with gusto. Boniface is a physical centre-forward but with the sort of wit that belies his age (he is still only 23), and he has looked very much at home in his first Champions League season.

Lookman (22)

Lookman began his year by scoring three goals in the knockout phase of the Africa Cup of Nations, helping Nigeria to the final. In May he hit three in one night to end Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten season and deliver Atalanta a Europa League title – their first-ever continental trophy. The only African player nominated for the Ballon d’Or, Lookman finished 14th in the voting and celebrated by firing his club to the top of Serie A in December. Little wonder 141 of our 197 judges included him on their top-40 ballots.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Osihmen @ no 74 ? Ko ni da fun iya won.