How The Guardian Ranked The 100 Best Male Footballers In The World 2025
Didi Hamann, Romário, and Dunga were among the 219-strong voting panel assembled by The Guardian to decide the 2025 list of the world's 100 best male footballers. Romário submitted his votes in mid-November, while Dunga joined the panel alongside other Brazilian veterans such as Walter Casagrande and Juninho. German ex-international Dietmar Hamann also contributed to the jury.
The panel includes former players, coaches, and media representatives from multiple countries, with their combined international caps totaling 904. The ranking rollout was scheduled over four days: players ranked 100 to 71 were announced on December 16; 70 to 41 on December 17; 40 to 11 on December 18; and the top 10 on December 19.
Below the published list, The Guardian explained the top-100 rules. The judges are listed alphabetically within three categories: Players, Coaches and technical staff, and Media.
