Champions League Player Power Rankings 2025/26
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. Xavi Simons
Spurs
49. Desire Doue
PSG
48. Phil Foden
Man City
47. Ivan Perisic
PSV
46. Carlos Forbs
Club Brugge
45. Rayan Cherki
Man City
44. De Ketelaere
Atalanta
43. Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool
42. Noni Madueke
Arsenal
41. Couhaib Driouech
PSV
A fair few new entrants to our top 50 this week, with Xavi Simons notably securing that final spot following his standout display against Slavia Prague, while Rayan Cherki also gets a nod following his stellar performance as Man City saw off Real Madrid.
Perhaps the performance of the week, at least from a Premier League perspective, came from Arsenal’s Noni Madueke, however, with the Englishman’s first of the night against Club Brugge an early contender for goal of the competition.
40-31
40. Serhou Guirassy
Dortmund
39. Eberechi Eze
Arsenal
38. Harvey Barnes
Newcastle
37. Scott McTominay
Napoli
36. Trincao
Sporting
35. Goncalo Ramos
PSG
34. Lennart Karl
Bayern
33. David Raya
Arsenal
32. Lamine Yamal
Barcelona
31. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Marseille
A fresh face also emerges in this next batch of names, with Bayern Munich’s teen sensation, Lennart Karl, deserving of a first inclusion, having now scored in three Champions League games in a row – the youngest player to have achieved that feat.
Elsewhere, Madueke’s ever-reliable teammate, David Raya, also surges up our list, having kept yet another clean sheet away at Brugge – his fifth in just six outings in this year’s edition.
30-21
30. Kenan Yildiz
Juventus
29. Gabriel
Arsenal
28. Marc Cucurella
Chelsea
27. Hakan Calhanoglu
Inter
26. Marcus Thuram
Inter
25. Estevao
Chelsea
24. Jeremy Doku
Man City
23. Micky van de Ven
Spurs
22. Alejandro Grimaldo
Leverkusen
21. Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal
It’s a bit of an Arsenal theme this week, with a word also needing to be said for Gabriel Martinelli, following his stunning second-half effort. The Brazilian speedster already has five goals in this season’s Champions League, despite making just three starts.
It also proved to be another positive outing for Bayer Leverkusen’s talisman, Alejandro Grimaldo, with the in-form left-footer denying Newcastle all three points late on in the BayArena.
20-11
20. Marquinhos
PSG
19. Anthony Gordon
Newcastle
18. Dean Huijsen
Real Madrid
17. Denzel Dumfries
Inter
16. Julian Alvarez
Atleti
15. Lautaro Martinez
Inter
14. Achraf Hakimi
PSG
13. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia
PSG
12. Enzo Fernandez
Chelsea
11. Nuno Mendes
PSG
The top 20 sees Anthony Gordon retain his place, having now scored five times himself this season, while Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez also deserves his own surge up this list after netting the opener against PSV Eindhoven.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s shock defeat away to Atalanta sees Enzo Fernandez drop out of the top ten, with the Serie A side coming from behind to win 2-1 in Bergamo.
So, who is included in the top ten after match week five?
10 Pedri
Taking Enzo’s place in this top ten is Barcelona genius, Pedri, with the Spaniard again putting on a midfield clinic in the 2-1 triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt.
108 touches. 100% of his dribbles successfully completed. 100% of his tackles won. Need we say more?
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.
The Dutchman may have missed the clash with Brugge, but it would be harsh to dislodge him from his place in this top ten.
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, and failed to fire this time around against Monaco, but still sits second in the scoring charts, now up to six goals from just four 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, having also picked out Jules Kounde in stunning fashion in midweek, 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 four 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 may have sat out Brugge through illness, although he memorably rocked up against Bayern Munich in match week five to deliver a virtuoso man-of-the-match display.
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 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, having also failed to fire against Sporting in Bayern’s comeback 3-1 win.
2 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, scoring for the sixth time in the Champions League this season against Madrid.
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.
He may have missed the Man City clash through injury, but with nine goals in just five games, there’s no one better for the top spot.
Yamal this, Yamal that. The Frenchman is the greatest in the world right now.
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