9. Kieran Gibbs – Arsenal
Arsenal are one of the clubs that
make the most headlines season
in, season out, and there is
never much middle ground with
them. They are either playing
sensational football, earning
plaudits left, right and centre,
or they are performing with as
much quality as a lower league
team. Their attacking players
receive great praise for their
intricate passing style, while
their defence is lambasted for
its naivety. If there is one
player at the Emirates who goes
completely under the radar,
however, it’s Gibbs.
The 25-year-old has been a
regular in the side for a number
of years now, and he is an
absolute model of consistency at
left-back. He is very solid
defensively, can get forward well
and he clearly loves playing for
the Gunners. When Arsene Wenger’s
side concede sloppy goals, it’s
hardly ever Gibbs who is the one
to blame. He is very popular with
the fans, but he definitely
doesn’t get the credit he
deserves elsewhere.
Gibbs has only just been given a
deserved international call-up
too, having been kept out by
Ashley Cole and Leighton Baines
for so long. He might not be the
undisputed first-choice left-back
for England, but there’s no
reason why he shouldn’t start
ahead of Baines and Luke Shaw
currently. He is an excellent
full-back
8. Jose Fonte – Southampton
Southampton’s brilliance last
season was largely attributed to
the likes of Adam Lallana, Morgan
Schneiderlin and Dejan Lovren,
and while the latter received a
huge amount of praise for his
defensive displays, Fonte was
just as good as his teammate at
centre-back, but wasn’t
complimented as much. He was
consistently better than Lovren,
in fact.
The 30-year-old might not be the
most glamorous player at the
club, both last season and now-
the likes of Dusan Tadic and
Graziano Pelle are the marquee
names at St Mary’s now- but he is
absolutely vital to the Saints’
success. This season they have
conceded just five goals in 11
Premier League games, and Fonte
has been fantastic alongside the
likes of Ryan Bertrand, Toby
Alderweireld and Nathaniel Clyne.
You still don’t hear too many
plaudits coming his way though.
The one-time capped Portugal
defender may not be as well-known
as fellow Premier League
defenders Vincent Kompany, John
Terry and Gary Cahill, but there
is not a more reliable player in
the country in his position right
now.
7. Daniel Sturridge –
Liverpool
Liverpool’s magnificent but
ultimately failed attempt at
winning the 2013/14 Premier
League title was supposedly all
down to Luis Suarez, in the eyes
of rival fans, but Sturridge was
also sensational (along with
several others). There is no way
they would have finished second
without him. He scored 24 goals
in just 33 appearances, and
although he received a certain
amount of praise, the ex-Chelsea
man received nowhere near the
plaudits he deserved.
This season, once again Suarez
has been the talk of Liverpool,
with everyone claiming his move
to Barcelona is the reason for
the Reds’ insipid start to the
season. Wrong. Of course the
brilliant Uruguayan is a huge
miss, but the loss of Sturridge
to injury- he has played just
three league games so far in
2014/15- has been absolutely
crippling.
Liverpool lack so much without
the 25-year-old in the side,
whether it’s pace, movement and,
most of all, a regular stream of
goals. There is the nagging
feeling that he is still not
fully appreciated though, both at
Anfield and in the media. He is a
fantastic striker who is still
improving, and there is
absolutely no reason why he can’t
become world-class in the coming
years. Sturridge is rated pretty
highly, but is still very
underrated.

6. Mario Mandzukic – Bayern
Munich
Bayern Munich have become a
hugely formidable side over the
last few years, whether it be
under Jupp Heynckes or Pep
Guardiola, but during his time at
Allianz Arena, Mandzukic was
often seen as the weak-link in an
otherwise fantastic side. This is
hugely unfair, and the Croatia
international is up there with
the most effective strikers in
world football at the moment.
The 28-year-old may not have the
natural ability of someone like
Suarez or the goal ratio of
Sergio Aguero, but he is an
extremely unselfish, understated
player. He holds the ball up
brilliantly, has clever movement
and is terrific in the air.
Mandzukic was deemed not good by
Guardiola, despite having scored
48 goals in his 88 appearances
for the club, and he was sold to
Atletico Madrid this summer.
He has shown what a fine player
he is at Vicente Calderon,
scoring eight goals in his first
15 games there. Diego Costa was
always going to be a very
difficult player to replace, but
the Croatian is doing a great job
so far. Mandzukic will never earn
too much praise, but he is one of
those strikers who your teammates
appreciate hugely
5. Nemanja Matic – Chelsea
Chelsea have been unstoppable so
far this season, and are
strolling towards the Premier
League title despite the fact it
is only December. For all the
defensive expertise of Terry and
Cahill and the attacking flair of
Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and
Costa, the player who holds the
side together is Matic. He is a
phenomenal defensive midfielder-
one of the best in the world in
that area, in fact- but he
receives nowhere near the amount
of praise he deserves.
More often than not he quietly
goes about his business in the
middle of the park, reading the
game brilliantly and cutting out
danger, but there is so much more
to his game compared to some
fairly limited holding
midfielders. The 26-year-old has
a cultured left foot, he can run
with the ball and he chips in
with the odd goal here and there.
At six foot four inches tall, he
is also a formidable presence.
The Serbia international was re-
signed by Jose Mourinho for £21m
in January this year, having been
sold to Benfica in 2011, and at
the moment it looks as though he
will be worth every penny and
more. There are five or six
players in the Blues’ side who
will always be spoken about more,
but nobody is more influential
than Matic on current form.
4. Carlos Tevez – Juventus
When you think about the best
strikers on the planet currently,
the names of Suarez, Aguero,
Costa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and
Karim Benzema all roll off the
tongue. For some reason, Tevez is
not held in as high esteem, when
in fact he’s right up there with
the very best.
The 30-year-old has been a
fabulous player for many years,
but it’s almost as if his
incredible work-rate- there is
not a more hard-working striker
around- works against him. People
seem to forget that he is also a
hugely gifted footballer. He is
skilful, creative, a dead-ball
specialist and a superb finisher.
He also scores important goals,
and always has done. At Juventus
he is a hero, scoring 32 goals in
just 60 games since joining from
Manchester City in 2013. Outside
of Turin he is not admired that
greatly though.
Personality-wise, we all know he
can be hard work, but then some
of the strikers mentioned above
can be too. Perhaps Serie A’s
decline is working against the
former Manchester United star.
Tevez is a wonderful footballer,
and it’s just a shame that he
doesn’t receive the plaudits he
deserves worldwide.

3. Sergio Busquets – Barcelona
Barcelona’s unbelievable success
over the last five or six years
has understandably been dominated
by the genius of Lionel Messi,
Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but
their incredible dominance would
have been impossible without
Busquets. The 26-year-old is an
unbelievably understated presence
at the heart of Barca’s midfield;
that applies to with Spain too.
While the creative maestros have
always been allowed the freedom
to strut their stuff in attack,
without having to worry too much
about their defensive duties,
Busquets has always done the
dirty work admirably. He has
superb discipline, brilliant use
of the ball from deep and a
wonderful reading of the game.
People say that anyone could be
effective in that role, around
such talent, but that is doing
the Spaniard such a disservice.
There remains no better holding
midfielder in world football,
despite Barcelona’s fall from
grace.
Busquets is clearly rated very
highly by some, and does earn his
fair share of praise, but
considering the job he does for
the Catalan giants, and the
consistency he has shown over
many years, he should be
appreciated even more. He is
fantastic player, with underrated
natural ability too.

2. Javier Mascherano –
Barcelona
Admittedly, it seems as though
quite a few people are now fully
appreciating Mascherano for the
world-class player he is,
following his unbelievable
performances for Argentina during
the latter stages of this
summer’s World Cup, but he still
underrated. He is one of the most
consistent, passionate,
influential players around on his
day.
During his Liverpool days, the
30-year-old was a vitally
important member of Rafa
Benitez’s side, but it was the
likes of Xabi Alonso, Steven
Gerrard and Fernando Torres who
made the headlines week in, week
out. People didn’t notice the
work Mashcerano was doing off the
ball, and his timing of tackles
and reading of play was
perfection.
Since moving to Barcelona in
2010, he has often been used as a
centre-back, and he has thrived
there. He may be small in
stature, and he may not looking
totally at home in that role, but
he is invariably faultless and
his use of the ball is much
better than many give him credit
for. Midfield remains his best
position, but wherever you play
him, you will always get a 7/10
performance from him at the
worst. Mascherano is a wonderful
player, and one who might not be
fully appreciated under he
eventually hangs up his boots.

1. Thomas Muller – Bayern
Munich
This may be a slightly
contentious number one, given how
highly regarded Muller is by so
many, but I still genuinely
believe he is the most underrated
player in world football at the
moment. The German World Cup
winner may not be the most
talented player around, but if
you take away Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo, is there
really a more effective player on
the planet at the moment?
The 25-year-old forward is a
manager’s dream. He works his
socks off for the good of the
team, scores and creates goals in
abundance, rarely causes any
problems off the pitch and is a
born winner. He has the knack of
scoring in the big games, and he
is a player who immediately
strikes fear into the opposition
if you see his name on the Bayern
Munich team-sheet. Despite this,
it is often Robben, Ribery and
others who get more praise than
him. They are clearly fantastic
players, but barring the
Dutchman, there is nobody
contributing more for club or
country.
Muller has scored 108 goals in
272 appearances for Bayern, and
26 in 62 for Germany, often as a
wide player or behind a striker,
and he has won the World Cup,
Champions League and three
Bundesliga titles. It’s
absolutely frightening to think
he’s only just turned 25.

well organised list...you are right though

fijiano202:
well organised list...you are right though

yh man

True for Muller he deserves that no 1 slot.

I don't understand what the 0P meant by underrated....apart from...gibbs,fonte and matic....the rest of them are still world class players and well known...

What of Overrated?
Balloteli
Neymar
James Rodrigues
Ozil
Falcao
All English national team players in the EPL: Wilshere, Rooney, Lampard,; Sterling, Walcot, Terry, Lambert, Lalana, Berkly, etc. A bunch of over hyped players That could nt even beat Costa Rica in d last World Cup

Op ur kush strong o! Apart 4rm gibbs(hu's fvcked btw) evry1 on ur list na boss

Icon4s:
What of Overrated?
Balloteli
Neymar
James Rodrigues
Ozil
Falcao
All English national team players in the EPL: Wilshere, Rooney, Lampard,; Sterling, Walcot, Terry, Lambert, Lalana, Berkly, etc. A bunch of over hyped players That could nt even beat Costa Rica in d last World Cup

yh over rated list soon to come

Icon4s:
What of Overrated?
Balloteli
Neymar
James Rodrigues
Ozil
Falcao
All English national team players in the EPL: Wilshere, Rooney, Lampard,; Sterling, Walcot, Terry, Lambert, Lalana, Berkly, etc. A bunch of over hyped players That could nt even beat Costa Rica in d last World Cup

hey...neymar isnt overrated.
He is 22 years old and improving time to time.

snrman:
yh over rated list soon to come

Ok we dey wait

ClintonNzedimma:

hey...neymar isnt overrated.
He is 22 years old and improving time to time.

Hey! When he was leaving Brazil to Barca some pple were already saying Messi's position in d team was at stake.

Icon4s:

Ok we dey wait

https://www.nairaland.com/2042911/9-most-overrated-players-world#28849246 I don post am

Icon4s:

Hey! When he was leaving Brazil to Barca some pple were already saying Messi's position in d team was at stake.

and it is.
14 goals this season isnt a joke...messi has just 21.
Give neymar a central role them we will know how good he already is

I don't think Muller is underrated. And to the dude saying Neymar is overrated, i don't think so too

missberrypop5:
I don't think Muller is underrated. And to the dude saying Neymar is overrated, i don't think so too

You watch football How awesome! Impressive.
One day I tried to count the number of football matches I've watched from beginning to end. Weren't up to 10, lol. I watch only World Cup finals. I watch them cos its like a family ritual to do. Lol. God help me
Ayamlaykorn

The only underrated players there are Fonte and Busquets

Sone Aluko is underrated