Goal.com Top 50 Players Of 2008-09

Who were the globe's best players of 2008-09? Join Goal.com over the next three weeks to find out...

Superstars: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (PA)
Goal.com is currently counting down the top 50 players in the world from the 2008-09 season.

Our editors and journalists from each corner of the globe, from London to New York, and Seoul to Sydney, have deliberated long and hard in order to produce the most definitive list.

We have taken into account club and international form, domestic and continental achievements, trophies won, consistency, star quality, individual influence, and much, much more.

The series kicked off on July 7 with No.50 on its own, and from then on we will print three players each weekday at 09:00, 11:00 and 13:00 BST until the top three are revealed on Wednesday, July 29.

The votes for the top places were agonisingly close, and the finish to the line was unimaginably tight.

As the countdown continues, we also want to know what you, the readers, think of each position. Was Cristiano Ronaldo rated too high? Was Samuel Eto’o too low? Did Edin Dzeko deserve more after a stunning season in the Bundesliga? Leave a comment and vote in the poll on each article, and tell us your thoughts.

The Goal.com Top 50 Of 2008-09 – only on Goal.com.

The List

Goal.com 50: Robinho (50)
Goal.com 50: Marco Motta (49)
Goal.com 50: Luis Fabiano (48)
Goal.com 50: Michel Bastos (47)
Goal.com 50: John Terry (46)
Goal.com 50: Mohamed Aboutrika (45)
Goal.com 50: Arjen Robben (44)
Goal.com 50: Mesut Oezil (43)
Goal.com 50: Patrice Evra (42)
Goal.com 50: Aly Cissokho (41)
Goal.com 50: Juan Sebastian Veron (40)
Goal.com 50: Landon Donovan (39)
Goal.com 50: Giuseppe Rossi (38)
Goal.com 50: Pepe Reina (37)
Goal.com 50: Pato (36)
Goal.com 50: Grafite (35)
Goal.com 50: Giorgio Chiellini (34)
Goal.com 50: Kaka (33)
Goal.com 50: Zvjezdan Misimovic (32)
Goal.com 50: Nicolas Anelka (31)
Goal.com 50: Edwin van der Sar (30)
Goal.com 50: Antonio Cassano (29)
Goal.com 50: Yoann Gourcuff (28)
Goal.com 50: Lass Diarra (27)
Goal.com 50: Mauro Zarate (26)
Goal.com 50: Diego Milito (25)
Goal.com 50: Rio Ferdinand (24)
Goal.com 50: Felipe Melo (23)
Goal.com 50: Carles Puyol (22)
Goal.com 50: Diego (21)
Goal.com 50: Thierry Henry (20)
Goal.com 50: Gonzalo Higuain (19)
Goal.com 50: David Villa (18)
Goal.com 50: Edin Dzeko (17)
Goal.com 50: Julio Cesar (16)
Goal.com 50: Frank Lampard (15)
Goal.com 50: Steven Gerrard (14)
Goal.com 50: Diego Forlan (13)
Goal.com 50: Franck Ribery (12)
Goal.com 50: Xabi Alonso (11)
Goal.com 50: Wayne Rooney (10)
Goal.com 50: Samuel Eto'o (9)
Goal.com 50: Maicon (8)
Goal.com 50: Nemanja Vidic (7)
Goal.com 50: Daniel Alves (6)
Goal.com 50: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (5)
Goal.com 50: Cristiano Ronaldo (4)
Goal.com 50: Xavi (3)
Goal.com 50: Andres Iniesta (2)
Goal.com 50: Lionel Messi (1)
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