Golazo 100: Top 40 look ahead as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Arsenal and Inter well represented

The final 40 names on the Golazo 100 are a celebration of the best of the best in men’s soccer, and the final batch represent a wide cross-section of the game’s current elite teams and countries as much as the players.

While all but two players play in Europe’s top five leagues, the group hails from 16 clubs and 18 countries across four continents. It should also come as no surprise that the top 40 players on the Golazo 100 make up a very distinguished group — a large chunk of them won the title in their domestic leagues during the 2023-24 season, while a sizable number of UEFA Champions League winners and a handful of World Cup champions made the cut.

Before the final 40 names are revealed over the course of the next few days, with 40-21 coming on Monday on Golazo Network’s Morning Footy and CBSSports.com, here’s a breakdown of the highest-ranking players by club, country and accomplishments.

Golazo 100 schedule

Be sure to tune into Golazo Network, including Morning Footy to start your day with a breakdown of each batch of top players released every day. And, of course, make sure to check out the full breakdown and analysis of who was ranked where and why

• Golazo 100: 100-81
• Golazo 100: 80-61
• Golazo 100: 60-41
• Top Americans to watch for 2025
• Monday, June 10: 40-21
• Tuesday, June 11: 20-11
• Wednesday, June 12: 10-1

Attackers take charge

It comes as little surprise that attack-minded players make up a huge share of the top 40, with nine strikers and eight wingers taking up the top spots. There was quite a bit of love for central midfielders and attacking midfielders, 15 of whom also rank within the top 40. The rest of the top 40 includes four center backs, two goalkeepers and two defensive midfielders.

• 2 goalkeepers
• 4 center backs
• 2 defensive midfielders
• 15 central midfielders
• 9 strikers
• 8 wingers

Premier League reigns supreme

While all but two players play outside of Europe’s top five leagues, one domestic championship ranked above the rest — the Premier League. Seventeen of the top 40 hail from six teams in England’s top flight, while 10 players from three teams hail from La Liga. Serie A and the Bundesliga each had five players, with three Italian clubs represented and two German clubs in the mix. Ligue 1, MLS and the Saudi Pro League each had one player who played in their leagues last season — and it probably is not hard to guess who they are, but we won’t spoil it for you.

• 17 Premier League players
• 10 La Liga players
• 5 Serie A players
• 5 Bundesliga players
• 1 Ligue 1 player
• 1 MLS player
• 1 Saudi Pro League player

Manchester City, Real Madrid on top

Manchester City and Real Madrid, the last two winners of the Champions League, are essentially neck-and-neck when it comes to collecting the world’s best talent and that’s the case with the top 40 on the Golazo 100. Each team has seven players in the top 40 after winning their domestic titles, while Inter and Arsenal have four each. Three players each represent Liverpool and Bayern Munich, while two players each play for Bayer Leverkusen and Barcelona. Eight other clubs across six countries have one player each in the top 40.

• 7 Real Madrid players
• 7 Manchester City players
• 4 Inter players
• 4 Arsenal players
• 3 Liverpool players
• 3 Bayern Munich players
• 2 Bayer Leverkusen players
• 2 Barcelona players
• 1 Paris Saint-Germain player
• 1 Tottenham Hotspur player
• 1 Chelsea player
• 1 Manchester United player
• 1 Atletico Madrid player
• 1 Napoli player
• 1 Inter Miami player
• 1 Al-Nassr player

England and Germany’s stacked squads

Most of the top 40 players will be at the Euros and the Copa America this summer, with two national teams accounting for 12 players — England and Germany, who each have six. Portugal are right behind them with five players in the top 40, while Brazil will take four to the Copa America. France is represented three times in the top 40 Argentina, Spain and Norway each have two players and 10 countries have one player each.

• 6 England players
• 6 Germany players
• 5 Portugal players
• 4 Brazil players
• 3 France players
• 2 Argentina players
• 2 Spain players
• 2 Norway players
• 1 Belgium player
• 1 Egypt player
• 1 Netherlands player
• 1 South Korea player
• 1 Poland player
• 1 Nigeria player
• 1 Uruguay player
• 1 Italy player
• 1 Turkey player
• 1 Croatia player

Winning mentality

Half of the top 40 cracked the top portion of the list on the back of winning their domestic titles, while 22 of them have Champions League winners’ medals. A small portion of them have also enjoyed success on the international stage — four players have won the World Cup and four players have also won their continental championship. Three Ballon d’Or winners also cracked the top 40.

• 22 UEFA Champions League winners
• 20 domestic league champions during the 2023-24 season
• 4 World Cup winners
• 4 continental championship winners
• 3 Ballon d’Or winners