1- Lionel Messi (Barcelona / Argentina)
2- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid / Portugal)
3 - Fernando Torres (Liverpool / Spain)
4 - Xavi (Barcelona / Spain)
5 - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool / England)
6 - Kaka (Real Madrid / Brazil)
7 - Michael Essien (Chelsea / Ghana)
8 - Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal / Russia)
9 - Wayne Rooney (Manchester United / England)
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona / Sweden)
11 - Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale / Cameroon)
12 - Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich / France)
13 - Frank Lampard (Chelsea / England)
14 - Andres Iniesta (Barcelona / Spain)
15 - Diego (Juventus / Brazil)
16 - Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United / Serbia)
17 - Daniel Alves (Barcelona / Brazil)
18 - Iker Casillas (Real Madrid / Spain)
19 - Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid / Argentina)
20 - Didier Drogba (Chelsea / Ivory Coast)
21 - Maicon (Internazionale / Brazil)
22 - Javier Mascherano (Liverpool / Argentina)
23 - Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus / Italy)
24 - David Villa (Valencia / Spain)
25 - Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United / England)
26 - Thierry Henry (Barcelona / France)
27 - Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux / France)
28 - Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid / Uruguay)
29 - Daniele De Rossi (Roma / Italy)
30 - Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea / Russia)
31 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal / Spain)
32 - Edin Dzeko (Wolfburg / Bosnia and Herzegovina)
33 - Esteban Cambiasso (Internazionale / Argentina)
34 - Robin van Persie (Arsenal / Netherlands)
35 - Alexandre Pato (Milan / Brazil)
36 - Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal / Italy)
37 - Shay Given (Manchester City / Republic of Ireland)
38 - Karim Benzema (Lyon / France)
39 - Mohamed Aboutrika (Al-Ahly / Egypt)
40 - Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea / France)
41 - Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow)
42 - Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough / Turkey)
43 - Xabi Alonso (Liverpool / Spain)
44 - Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
45 Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors)
46 Julio Cesar (Internazionale / Brazil)
47 - Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk / Croatia)
48 - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich / Germany)
49 Filippo Inzaghi (Milan)
50 Robinho (Manchester City / Brazil)
HOW WE MADE THE LIST
The list, obviously, is subjective. All the number-crunching in the world will not tell you whether Gianluigi Buffon is better than Samuel Eto'o. Their functions are so different it is like trying to decide whether you prefer an orange or a tin opener.
We basically picked the team using the playground system. If all the players in the world were lined up and you had to pick them to play a match, in what order would a 'team captain' select them?
Our fictional playground captains are not trying to build an actual team, they are just picking the best player available. So there is no effort to balance players from every position.
In our estimation, good attackers win more matches than good defenders. They are the ones who command the big transfer fees, they are the ones who people pay to watch, and they are the ones who win the individual awards.
So we make no apology that the list is weighted in favour of attacking midfielders and strikers. No matter how much you admire Jamie Carragher's contribution to Liverpool, you would never say he was a better or more important player than Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres. The list reflects this.
Form is crucial. There are players who missed out on a top-50 place who might have been in the top 10 last year, but have seen their stock fall either through injury or poor form. There is no doubt Ronaldinho is a stunningly talented player, but we could not say - on current form - he is one of the 50 best in the world.
Age is irrelevant. Players are judged entirely on their current ability, not their potential. A 35-year-old is not marked down because he is at the end of his career, and an 18-year-old does not get extra credit because of the player he is expected to become. Only one thing matters - how good is the player now?
