The Champions League remains the pinnacle of the European game, showcasing the very best that the continent has to offer, both collectively and on an individual basis.
Paris Saint-Germain romped to the title in emphatic fashion last time around, yet with talisman – and Ballon d’Or winner – Ousmane Dembele seeing his impact limited this time around due to injury, who else is now leading the way instead?
Ranking factors Current form Importance to team Reputation and honours 50-41
50. Richarlison
Spurs
49. De Ketelaere
Atalanta
48. Phil Foden
Man City
47. Ivan Perisic
PSV
46. Carlos Forbs
Club Brugge
45. Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool
44. Desire Doue
PSG
43. Dusan Vlahovic
Juventus
42. Rasmus Hojlund
Napoli
41. Couhaib Driouech
PSV
A batch of PSV players enter the top 50 this week courtesy of a remarkably dominant display over a Liverpool side who simply cannot escape their current mess.
The Reds lost 4-1 to the Dutch opponents in match week five, Ivan Perisic scoring from the spot and Couhaib Driouech bagging a brace.
As a result, there’s a notable drop for Virgil van Dijk who was previously inside the top 30 after his handball gave away the penalty that Perisic scored from.
40-31
40. Serhou Guirassy
Dortmund
39. David Raya
Arsenal
38. Harvey Barnes
Newcastle
37. Randal Kolo-Muani
Spurs
36. Trincao
Sporting
35. Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal
34. Scott McTominay
Napoli
33. Eberechi Eze
Arsenal
32. Lamine Yamal
Barcelona
31. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Marseille
A few new players emerge here as well with Randal Kolo-Muani rewarded for scoring twice against PSG, his parent club.
Speaking of braces, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is enjoying a career revival at Marseille and bagged a double against Newcastle.
30-21
30. Kenan Yildiz
Juventus
29. Goncalo Ramos
PSG
28. Julian Alvarez
Atletico Madrid
17. Hakan Calhanoglu
Inter
26. Alejandro Grimaldo
Bayer Leverkusen
25. Estevao
Chelsea
24. Marcus Thuram
Inter
23. Micky van de Ven
Spurs
22. Jeremy Doku
Man City
21. Gabriel
Arsenal
What a week this was for Estevao who in the battle of the wonderkids, successfully got the better of Lamine Yamal as Chelsea beat Barca 3-0. Yamal was relatively anonymous while Chelsea’s 18-year-old sensation scored a cracking goal.
Gabriel and Micky van de Ven fall out of the top 20 with the Brazilian not featuring in match week five due to injury and the latter conceding five in Paris.
20-11
20. Marquinhos
PSG
19. Anthony Gordon
Newcastle
18. Dean Huijsen
Real Madrid
16. Denzel Dumfries
Inter
15. Marc Cucurella
Chelsea
15. Lisandro Martinez
Inter
14. Achraf Hakimi
PSG
13. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia
PSG
12. Pedri
Barcelona
11. Nuno Mendes
PSG
The top 20 contains some of the finest defenders on the continent, although Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes drop out of the top ten following something of a shoddy defensive display by PSG against Spurs.
Anthony Gordon was enjoying a fabulous time of it in Europe but falls out of the top ten after a drab display against Marseille.
So, who is included in the top ten after match week five?
10 Enzo Fernandez
In the absence of Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s World Cup winner has become their man man. He’s the captain and he’s certainly living up to that responsibility.
He ran the show against Barcelona in the latest round of fixtures, registering an assist for Liam Delap’s strike. The Argentine also had a goal of his own ruled out for offside in that tie.
9 Jurrien Timber
Heralded by some as the best right-back in the world after helping Arsenal beat Bayern at the end of November, Timber has showcased himself to be a phenomenal signing by the Gunners.
No Gabriel, no problem on match week five. The colossal centre-half was absent but the Dutchman stepped up to the plate instead and scored a lovely flicked header from Bukayo Saka’s corner to open the scoring.
8 Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen has stormed into the top ten following his stunning hat-trick away at Ajax in match week four. He didn’t play in game week five but still sits second in the scoring charts, now up to six goals from just three appearances in 2025/26.
7 Marcus Rashford
There can be a perceived lack of interest or importance placed on these league phase fixtures, although Marcus Rashford has already served up reasons to be entertained, notably lashing home that stunner at St James’ Park, while producing an early contender for assist of the season after picking out Ferran Torres against PSG.
With two more goals under his belt against Olympiacos, albeit while firing a blank against Brugge and Chelsea, the 27-year-old is finally looking back to his brilliant best.
6 Michael Olise
Bayern Munich must be rubbing their hands with glee at having prised Michael Olise from Crystal Palace for ‘just’ £50m, with the France international going to new heights at the Allianz Arena.
With three goals and assists already in this year’s competition, the fleet-footed winger is already looking deadly again.
5 Declan Rice
Last season, Rice powered Arsenal to the Champions League semi-finals courtesy of two remarkable free-kicks against Real Madrid, deserving of the Puskas award. If you didn’t think he couldn’t get any better, think again.
He rocked up against Bayern Munich in match week five to deliver a virtuoso man of the match display. He may not have scored, but he was at the heart of everything good the Gunners did against Kompany’s men. Is there a better midfielder in world football? Perhaps there’s one.
4 Vitinha
From struggling against Chorley in the FA Cup for Wolves, the Portuguese midfielder has come a long way since. He’s a Champions League winner and arguably delivered his finest performance in the competition to date against Tottenham in match week five, scoring a stunning hat-trick which included a cracking equaliser in the first half.
Thomas Frank remarked after the game that he is “the next Ballon d’Or winner”. Any complaints? Very few.
3 Erling Haaland
Excluding the obvious duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the modern era hasn’t witnessed such a prolific presence as Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian already ripping it up in the new campaign.
A star for club and country, the 25-year-old arguably only ranks behind a certain Harry Kane as the continent’s finest number nine and although he didn’t play in match week five, he remains one of the finest in this year’s competition.
2 Harry Kane
The fastest player this century to reach 100 goals for one club, the England skipper is in the form of his life right now, notching up five goals already to kickstart his – and Bayern’s – bid for an elusive Champions League crown.
He was the finest player in the competition to date until he came up against Arsenal in match week five. The former Spurs man failed to score and barely had a touch in the area, regularly dropping deep as Vincent Kompany’s side lost 3-1.
1 Kylian Mbappe
Having somewhat upset the apple cart after joining then-holders Real Madrid last summer, Kylian Mbappe is back in the groove again under Xabi Alonso. Heading into match week five, he had already bagged a handful of goals in the 2025/26 Champions League but saved a vintage performance for a trip to Olympiacos.
Mbappe scored a devastating four goals in Greece during a captivating 4-3 win for the Spanish giants. Yamal this, Yamal that. The Frenchman is the greatest in the world right now.
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