Data analysts have ranked the 30 best football teams in the world right now

What makes a team the best in the world? It’s a rather subjective question. Sure, the amount of wins and trophies a club has won in recent times can be a good indicator, but in a sport where anyone could beat anyone, it feels like a tough ask to pick just one team that trumps the rest. After all, comparing teams from different leagues requires pure guesswork.

As a prime example, Manchester United have never locked horns with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. And while many may think the former would easily come out on top, it’s practically impossible to know full well. Admittedly, it’s subjective and there is technically no right or wrong answer – but everyone could use some help from the folks over at Opta, who have calculated – and recently updated – their Power Rankings.

Using an Elo algorithm which analyses results from over 2.5 million games, a rating is then assigned to that team which is comparable to other sides across the world. Points are determined by in-league ratings, the overall rating of a division, a country’s rating among others and the rating of the continent a team plays in.

With all that in mind, here are the 30 best teams in world football as things stand, how well they’ve performed in European competitions in seasons gone by and exactly why they are placed where they are.

World’s Best Teams: 30th-21st

Man United, AC Milan and Tottenham in the top 30

Kicking off proceedings is a recent addition to the top 30: Marco Silva’s Fulham, who (as things stand) are standing 11th in the Premier League table. The west London side are having an impressive season and had a real chance of securing European football for next season until recently. It’s still possible, but it looks ever so unlikely.

Tottenham Hotspur, led by Ange Postecoglou, then follow by virtue of their progression into the Europa League semi-finals. It’s been tumultuous from a domestic standpoint, but their status as European semi-finalists – and potentially, finalists – aids their standing among world football’s very best. Serie A side Bologna, who are fighting for a spot in European competition next season, find themselves 28th with a Power Ranking of 90.7.

Once the dominant side in Italy, Juventus, boast a rating of 90.9. As such, they slipped to 27th after just making it into Serie A’s top half as of May 2025 and a disappointing display in the Champions League. Gone are the days when the Old Lady were one of the best clubs on the continent and the far superior team in their nation.

Elsewhere, there’s Sporting CP at the summit of Liga Portugal and here, they are 26th with an overall, more-than-impressive score of 90.9. They struggled somewhat in the infancy of the new manager’s direction – perfectly encapsulated by their 5-1 defeat to Arsenal – but have turned their fortunes on their head.

The Italian side sit just below Europa League hopefuls Manchester United, whose fall from grace is accentuated by their place in the standings as they sit in 25th, holding onto European success for any sort of respite. Ruben Amorim will hope that is not the case this time next year.

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Once again from the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Fabian Hurzeler have proven not to be overwhelmed by the fact he is the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history, but a recent dip in form have cost them a place higher on this list.

AC Milan, in yesteryear, were the team to beat in Europe and, subsequently, in Italy too – but it’s safe to say that’s no longer the case. The Rossoneri, as things stand, are fighting for their lives smack bang in the middle of Italy’s top tier. They are followed by Italian side AS Roma, who are fifth in Serie A as things stand.

From seemingly out of nowhere, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest are in with a chance of making history by securing Champions League football despite having had to fight against relegation last season. Should they secure their return to Europe’s elite competition, you can expect the Garibaldi to climb even further.

World’s Best Teams: 20th-11st

Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus feature

Thomas Frank’s Brentford are the eptiome of a well-run club. Since being promoted to England’s top flight, the Danish tactician has flirted with the prospect of European football but is yet to fulfil such promise. As things stand, they are ninth in the Premier League and, in terms of their Power Rankings, are judged to be 20th in world football.

Also breaking into the top 20 are Benfica, who are neck and neck with Sporting CP at the summit of Liga Portugal. Just ahead of the Portuguese heavyweights are last season’s Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund, which may come as quite a shock.

Premier League underdogs Bournemouth have enjoyed a strange season. They were once viewed as the top flight’s outside shout of competing in Europe next season, but Andoni Iraola has experienced something of a dip, something they’ll be hoping to eradicate between now and the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign.

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace sit 16th. The Eagles are looking to win a major trophy for the first time in their history – with all eyes on their FA Cup campaign. Disregarding their recent defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle United, which respectively ended 5-2 and 5-0, they’re also tough to beat in league form. Whether the former Eintracht Frankfurt can continue into next season remains to be seen.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta are the team to watch in Italy. Spearheaded by the enigmatic Ademola Lookman, the Italian side shocked everyone by ending Bayer Leverkusen’s chances of an undefeated campaign in all competitions when they beat them in the Europa League final last season. They have since continued that red-hot form throughout 2024/25 and sit third in Serie A.

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Perhaps hard done by to miss out on a spot in the top ten are Antonio Conte’s Napoli. The Italian giants, helped by the addition of Scott McTominay and his all-action performances, are sitting at the summit of of Serie A. When at the races, they look unstoppable, but their lack of European football damages their overall ranking (14th on 92.8) here.

Diego Simeone-led Atletico Madrid stand just infront of the Italian outfit with a score of 93.2. The Spanish side, who suffered an agonising defeat in the Champions League playoff round against fierce rivals Real Madrid, are locked in a three-way battle for the La Liga title with their city rivals and Barcelona, though it’ll inveitably be one of thh latter duo to lift gold, won’t it?

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen just slip out of the top 10 and into 12th. What Xabi Alonso has done at Bayer Leverkusen is beyond explanation. Their last-gasp 2-2 draw against Roma in the Europa League gave them the longest European unbeaten run of all-time, but they stumbled at the last hurdle to secure a historic treble. They aren’t quite at the same level this season, but are still an impressive outfit.

Chelsea also make it into the top 20 and, after an up-and-down start to Enzo Maresca’s reign, find themselves in 12th but their European pedigree this season keeps them afloat. Under Maresca’s reign, the Blues looked to finally be heading in the right direction on all fronts but have hit a bump in the road and are now at risk of missing out on Champions League football next term.

World’s Best Teams: 10th-1st

Arne Slot’s dominance at Liverpool sees them take top spot

The top 10 are made up of the crème de la crème of world football, though every team here – unsurprisingly – resides in Europe. In 10th comes Aston Villa. Unai Emery has continuously impressed with the job he’s managed at Villa Park, taking the Premier League outfit from top-half hopefuls to a Champions League-level outfit.

Just in front are fellow top flight outfit Newcastle United, who celebrated their first major trophy in seven decades when they bested Liverpool to win the 2024-25 Carabao Cup thanks to goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak.

In 8th place, after exiting the Champions League earlier than expected, Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded side had a hard time clicking with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in the same team, and it’s somewhat not paid off yet. That said, they’ve also not been at their best domestically, and have a lot of work to do if they are to retain their league title.

A defeated Champions League quarter-finalist, Bayern Munich, have a rating of 96.3 as Vincent Kompany regained Germany’s top flight trophy after their dominant decade-long run in the Bundesliga came to an end last term. Harry Kane’s side failed to meet the expectations many had come to expect of the Bavarians as they lost out on the league title, but this season, they’ve came back with a furious vengeance and always looked like the team to beat.

Inter Milan surprised everyone by reaching the Champions League final in 2022/23 and finished last season, largely thanks to one of Europe’s top performers, Lautaro Martinez, as champions of Italy for the 30th time in their history. They have followed that up with a strong 24/25 campaign, and with a three-point gap to Napoli at the top, it is still all to play for in the race for the Scudetto. They are also locking horns with Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League final.

Manchester City have long been seen as the team to beat in Europe, ever since Pep Guardiola cemented his style of play at the Etihad. However, a downturn in performances – accompanied by a winless run of seven games for the first time in the Spaniard’s career – were the first warning signs that things aren’t as perfect as ever and has also meant that City have fallen down in the pecking order.

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An extremely impressive current campaign for Barcelona, under the fresh stewardship of Hansi Flick and his well-drilled entourage, has the Catalan giants in third place. Lamine Yamal is looking almost destined to become the best player in the world one day (if he isn’t already), while Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski are more than playing their respective parts in Flick’s pursuit of glory. What’s more impressive is how limited the La Liga side have been in terms of recruitment, due to their financial struggles.

Paris Saint-Germain may have lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, but they are still third in terms of their ranking (97.6). The Ligue 1 juggernauts have already secured the league title with a new-look side, led by Luis Enrique, and are one of the leading favourites in Europe’s most prestigious competition. As alluded to, it is Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan that stand between them and their first-ever Champions League title.

Having come so close to Premier League success two campaigns on the bounce, Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled entourage was always hoping to end Arsenal‘s silverware drought under the Spaniard when the current season ends. That, however, will not be the case after exiting Europe’s top table at the hands of PSG. Irrespective of their lack of silverware, they are second in the Power Rankings – with a score of 98.1.

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That leaves Liverpool in top spot, which is a true testament to how well Arne Slot has done in taking over from the seemingly irreplaceable Jurgen Klopp. Many believed the Dutchman would have to undergo a period of transition at Anfield, but consistent form and the inconsistency of others has meant that the Reds are flying high in the Premier League, crowned as champions with four games remaining, and are deservedly the kings of the castle in world football right now, despite their failure on the Champions League stage.