What makes a team the best in the world? It’s a rather subjective question. Sure, the number 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 Nottingham Forest in the top 30
Kicking off proceedings is a recent addition to the top 30: David Moyes’ Everton. The Toffees looked like they could be dragged into a relegation scrap under Sean Dyche in the first half of the campaign, but his replacement has guided the Merseysiders to a very respectable 13th-place finish, over 20 points clear of the drop zone.
Manchester United’s failure to salvage any saving grace from a truly horrific season sees the Red Devils fall into 28th place in the rankings, just above Belgian outfit Club Brugge. Ruben Amorim’s men hoped that Europa League success would paper over the cracks of a dismal campaign, but they were beaten by Tottenham in the final.
Elsewhere, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting CP both won their respective leagues after turning fortunes around towards the end of the campaign. They sit 27th and 24th in Opta’s rankings respectively, with Amorim’s former club higher than his current employers.
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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 finished their Serie A season in mid-table.
Once the dominant side in Italy, Juventus, boast a rating of 91.7. As such, they slipped to 25th after just making it into Serie A’s top four 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. They are followed by Benfica and the team that beat them to the Portuguese title, Sporting.
From seemingly out of nowhere, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest went from relegation contenders to European qualifiers in the space of 12 months, and as a result, they sit in a respectable 22nd position, level in terms of rating with Thomas Frank’s mightily impressive Brentford. 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.
Opta Power Rankings – 30-21
Power Ranking
Team
Rating/100
30.
Everton
91.1
29.
Club Brugge
91.1
28.
Manchester United
91.3
27.
PSV Eindhoven
91.3
26.
AC Milan
91.5
25.
Juventus
91.7
24.
Benfica
91.7
23.
Sporting CP
91.8
22.
Nottingham Forest
91.8
21.
Brentford
91.8
World’s Best Teams: 20th-11st
Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen and Napoli feature
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.
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 continued that red-hot form throughout 2024/25 and finished third in Serie A. AS Roma, who missed out on Champions League football, are just below their rivals.
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Former Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen slip out of the top 10 and into 17th. What Xabi Alonso did at the club 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 now, but are still an impressive outfit.
Perhaps hard done by to miss out on a spot in the top 10 are Antonio Conte’s Napoli. The Italian giants, helped by the addition of Scott McTominay and his all-action performances, beat Champions League finalists Inter Milan to the Serie A title. When at the races, they were unstoppable, but their lack of European football damages their overall ranking (16th on 93.1).
German side Borussia Dortmund and Diego Simeone-led Atletico Madrid stand just in front of the Italian outfit. The former just scraped into the Bundesliga top four by two points and exited European competition a lot earlier than the previous year. Atletico had a similar campaign, finishing third in La Liga and being knocked out of Europe by arch-rivals Real.
Once again from the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Fabian Hurzeler has proven not to be overwhelmed by the fact he is the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history, with late-season form almost securing a place in Europe.
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Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace sit 12th. The Eagles won a major trophy for the first time in their history with FA Cup success against Manchester City at Wembley. Along with the glory of lifting silverware, the Eagles picked up form in the second half of the league season.
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.
Opta Power Rankings – 20-11
Power Rankings
Team
Rating/100
20.
Bournemouth
92.1
19.
AS Roma
92.3
18.
Atalanta
92.9
17.
Bayer Leverkusen
92.9
16.
Napoli
93.1
15.
Borussia Dortmund
93.1
14.
Atletico Madrid
93.5
13.
Brighton
93.6
12.
Crystal Palace
94.3
11.
Newcastle United
95.4
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 place 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.
Chelsea also make it into the top 10 and, after an up-and-down start to Enzo Maresca’s reign, find themselves in 9th. Under Maresca’s reign, the Blues look to finally be heading in the right direction on all fronts after qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Conference League.
In 8th place, after exiting the Champions League earlier than expected, a star-studded Real Madrid side that had a hard time clicking with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in the same team, and it hasn’t paid off. That said, they’ve also not been at their best domestically, losing out on the title to Barcelona.
Inter Milan surprised everyone by reaching the Champions League final in 2022/23 and they made the final again in 24/25. Unfortunately, they lost on both occasions, most recently being humiliated 5-0 by PSG in Munich. They were also unable to retain their Serie A table as they were pipped to the post by Napoli. Despite coming up short both domestically and in Europe, they have been ranked as the 7th best team in the world.
A defeated Champions League quarter-finalist, Bayern Munich, have a rating of 97.6 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 come back with a furious vengeance and always looked like the team to beat.
An extremely impressive campaign for Barcelona, under the fresh stewardship of Hansi Flick and his well-drilled entourage, has the Catalan giants in fifth 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 more than played their respective parts in the club’s title glory. What’s more impressive is how limited the La Liga side have been in terms of recruitment, due to their financial struggles.
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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 have also meant that City have fallen down in the pecking order.
Paris Saint-Germain may have lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid but, after completing a historic treble in 24/25, they are now third in terms of their ranking (98.3). The Ligue 1 juggernauts, led by Luis Enrique, wree mightily impressive in the Champions League this season as they won the trophy for the first time in their existence.
Having come so close to Premier League success two campaigns on the bounce, Mikel Arteta and his well-drilled entourage were always hoping to end Arsenal’s silverware drought under the Spaniard when the season ended. That, however, wasn’t to be 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 99.5.
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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 have meant that the Reds were 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.
Opta Power Rankings – 1st-10th
Power Rankings
Team
Rating/100
10.
Aston Villa
95.4
9.
Chelsea
96.0
8.
Real Madrid
96.3
7.
Inter Milan
96.5
6.
Bayern Munich
97.2
5.
Barcelona
98.0
4.
Manchester City
98.6
3.
Paris Saint-Germain
98.3
2.
Arsenal
99.5
1.
Liverpool
100
All Power Rankings courtesy of Opta – correct as of 02/06/2025.
