In this article, we will be taking a look at the 12 countries that produce the best soccer players in the world. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see 5 countries that produce the best soccer players in the world.
Soccer, or football as it is way more commonly known across the world, is arguably the most beautiful sport in the world. It is also the most popular sport in the world by far no matter what source you refer to, with billions following it across the globe. Compare this to cricket for example, which is mainly played among Commonwealth countries and is relatively obscure in most of the world, including most of Europe, North and South America, and even Africa barring a few countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe. Or basketball, which while popular as a sport in many countries, only commands a high level of viewership and following in the United States and maybe a few other countries. This stands true for baseball as well which, while incredibly popular in the United States and surprisingly Japan, lacks the same fanbase elsewhere. However, since the United States is a pop culture behemoth whose influence is widely seen across the world, the popularity of sports such as baseball, basketball and the National Football League all seem much more popular worldwide than they actually are. In contrast, football/soccer has diehard fans in Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe and South America, with perhaps its lack of popularity being only in North America, but even that is improving now.
Photo by Mario Klassen on Unsplash
Another reason why football has been so popular through the decades is that it has always been considered a working class game. After all, all you need to be able to play football is a ball and some open area, as opposed to many other sports which require extensive equipment and curated courts to manage a game. However, in the global scheme of things, football seems less a working man’s game than one for the uber-rich as prices for simple games, especially in the most popular league in the world in the English Premier League, continue to increase and go far beyond the reach of the common man. Top football players earn hundreds of thousands of pounds every single week and that’s not considering bonuses or endorsements / sponsorships from top sports companies. After all, just two sports companies in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and Adidas spend more than $1.8 billion on football alone. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) also sponsors some of the top football players in the world including those from the countries that produce the best soccer players in the world, with athletes including Ronaldinho, Original Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney among others (see the 20 best Brazilian soccer players of all time). Football is a business now, pure and simple and is led by an organization in FIFA where many executives were arrested a few years ago due to corruption because of the large amount of money involved.
According to the KPMG Football Benchmark report, most of the biggest clubs in the world are worth billions of euros, with at least 13 clubs worth more than 1 billion euros, including Manchester United plc (NYSE:MANU). Manchester United plc (MANU) has a market cap currently of $3.3 billion and is among the most popular clubs in the world, and according to the KPMG report, is only below Real Madrid Football Club in terms of valuation.
Currently, the FIFA World Cup is being held in Qatar, a controversial decision to say the least. While many thought the World Cup would be a bust because of the controversy surrounding the country hosting the tournament, viewership records have been broken across most countries in the world with a drop in just some of them. Qatar have spent around $220 billion on the World Cup according to Forbes, and while the recoupment will be nowhere near that level, it serves ulterior purposes and allows Qatar to use the opportunity of being hosts as an opportunity of sportswashing, which it has done successfully so far, and also exposed the hypocrisy of the selective outrage by many European nations. While oppression of migrants should always be called out, the Western nations should also mention that several times more civilians have been killed by U.S. drone attacks authorized by its government, incidentally the next hosts as well.
While football is a craze in more than a hundred nations across the world, some countries have produced a lot more talent than others. After all, in 92 years, only 8 nations have won the World Cup. To determine the countries that produce the best soccer players in the world, we first got the first 15 countries based on a study by the Centre International d’Etude du Sport which showed which countries have the most footballers in the best teams around the world. We then ranked these countries based on the earlier ranking by CIES, number of World Cups won, Euro / Copa Americas won (since only European nations can play in the Euros and only Southern American nations can play the Copa America), and number of Balon D’or winners from each country (Balon D’or is given each year to the best football player in the world as chosen by players and journalists). The reason for including trophies won is that you can only reach the pinnacle of the sport multiple times if you continue producing star players. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the countries which ensure that the beautiful sport continues to get better, starting with number 12:
12. Russia
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 3
Total number of World Cups: 0
Total number of Euros : 1
Most of Russia’s success came when it was still the Soviet Union. After the ban on Russia in football because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it might take a long time for the country to rebuild its football structure and become a force in football again.
11. Colombia
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 0
Total number of World Cups: 0
Total number of Copa Americas: 1
Colombia is one of two countries in the list of countries that produce the best soccer players in the world to not have had a single Balon D’or winner, but it continues to produce star footballers such as Carlos Valderrama, considered the best player ever from the country.
10. Portugal
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 7
Total number of World Cups: 0
Total number of Euros : 1
Portugal is home to one o f the greatest footballers of all-time in Cristiano Ronaldo. While it has producer amazing players throughout history, Portugal only won its first major international trophy in 2016, when it won the Euros.
9. Uruguay
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 0
Total number of World Cups: 2
Total number of Copa Americas: 15
Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup in 1930, which they hosted. The country has also won the most number of Copa Americas in history.
8. Netherlands
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 7
Total number of World Cups: 0
Total number of Euros : 1
The Netherlands have one Euros to their name and the best they’ve achieved in the World Cup was a final, but players from the nation have been revolutionary, with perhaps none more so than Johan Cruyff, who was a proponent of the revolutionary football philosophy known as “Total Football” and won the Balon D’or three times in four years.
7. England
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 5
Total number of World Cups: 1
Total number of Euros : 0
England is home to the richest, most popular football league in the world. It attracts talents from all across the world, though it is rare for English players to move abroad generally. While England hasn’t won a major trophy since 1966, its massive investment in football means that it continues to churn out great players across years and decades.
6. Spain
Total number of Balon D’or winners from the country: 3
Total number of World Cups: 1
Total number of Euros : 3
From 2008 to 2012, Spain dominated world football in a fashion rarely seen before or after, winning two Euros and a World Cup in the process.
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Disclosure: None. 15 countries that produce the best soccer players in the world is originally published at Insider Monkey.
