it is an alternative list but the fact that Ferdinand gets top 3 is a discgrace and i am a die hard United fan i agree where is Robben in my opinion one of the best wingers and yes Carvalho is in my opinion based on current form one of the best CB's but it is a list for people that didnt make the original list and Riquelme should get a top 5 on the original

fredsta, Bendigo, Australia/ Victoria

ahahahah that shows how limited english are in foootbal and not only ahahah

Sonny, A,

Giggs is certainly a contender for No.1 - he has been great for over 10 years. Kaka has been great for two. And Giggs scored one of the greatest goals of all time against arsenal in the FA Cup semi. Against one of the best defences in europe. And if he wasn't great, Alex Ferguson would have flogged him off like so many other of United's stars when they got past their best. He can pass, cross, shoot with either foot, head, dribble, has great balance, great vision and is tenacious. I just wish he'd joined Milan all those years ago.

Pedro, Milan,

Right children, let's read the information available here: This is a list compiled "based on our readers' lively response". This is not the writer's selection of players.

Chief, Africa,

I wonder if Bill Edgars is a Man U supporter ??? The only bigger joke than Ryan Giggs being the best player in the world is Rio Ferdinand being listed in 3rd place !! Kaka is without doubt the best player in the world.

Roger Brown, Schenefeld, Germany

Hell no! whats the hell is Ryan Giggs doing at no 1# ? to tell u the truth maybe is top 100 not top 25, kaka is the best player in the world.

cedric, durban, south africa

Adriano in there- what a big joke. You have to wonder how good he really is, when he cant even get into a brazil squad with Vagner Love upfront!

Michael, London,

Ferdinand 3rd best in the world?! hehehe. Riquelme should be No. 1. Giggs in top ten. But not No 1

James Smith, Cardiff,

Where the hell is van der vaart, h is the best footballer in germany, europe and the world

Emil , Worcester, Massachusetts

vidic no. 6, ferdinand no. 3 and ballack not even making the list?
what've you been smoking?

harry, dc, usa

How can you leave Henrik Larsson out of that list?! Considered a God by the whole of Glasgow (ok, half God half Devil depending on if you;re gers or celtic) and then clearly proved himself on the highest of club level at Barcelona and then at ManU. Single-handedly he won the CL for Barca or in Henry's own words - "everyone talked about Ronaldinho, I didn't see him out there but I saw Henrik Larsson, he came on and changed the whole game". Barca's fans begged him to stay and then Fergie begged him to save ManU in times of need. I'm not a fan of either of the clubs he played for, Helsingborg, Feyenoord, Celtic, Barca, ManU but let's be fair and objective here - Larsson should definitely make the top10!

Robert, London,

Ferdinand?!?! You must be having a laugh. Like to think I know a little about football but I've never understood the fuss over Ferdinand. Third best player in the world? Never.

Dan Kondziela, London,

How come I don't see Forlan in any list. Atletico just paid 23 million for him. They have moiney to waste?. He should be included.

Robert Williams, Manassas, Virginia usa

a total crap created by a bunch of mancs.
"ferdinand on 3rd no.-biggest joke of the century"

true blue, london,

Isn’t Ryan Giggs too old to be the best player on Earth?!
Where is Steven Gerrard? What about Terry and Lampard?
What is Materazzi doing there? He is disgusting!
Finally, I do not know why Vidic is considered the sixth top player in the world. Does he know what technique means?!

Bruno, Oporto, Portugal

A more comprehensive list with players otherwise overlooked.

Incredibly strange that Diego Forlan was omitted from both lists though.

Ella Barreiro, Melbourne, Australia

Rio Ferdinand, no. 3??!?!?!?!??!? Hilarious.

Andrew, Cork,

Although the original list has been hotly contested I do think it made a lot of sense, based on the original aim of picking a list of players that you can base a team around. This alternative list, including very good players as they are, would not provide the basis for generating a team around. e.g. Giggs is a fantastic player, but Ferguson would not base a team around him purely based on his age and the younger talent he has at hid disposal.

C, Liverpool,

Oops I didn't see the 'alternative' bit. Fair enough.

Darragh, Dublin, Ireland

Is this a joke? Where are the others? Drogba, C. Ronaldo, Rooney, Kaka, Gerard, Gattuso, Messi...shall I go on?

Darragh, Dublin, Ireland

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article1963015.ece
Can't any of you READ. Its an alternative list for heavens sake!! The original top 50 is NOT INCLUDED - hence KAKA and co. aren't!!!!

GC, World, Sigh

Raul Gonzalez Blanco, if somebody don´t know him he is the Real Madrid's nº 7 since 10 years ago, the captain of Real and until last season he was the captain of spanish team (he left the national team because of the press).
He is already the top scorer of Champions league with almost 60 goals, he is one of the top scorers of the spanihsh leage of ever.
He have won 3 champions leagues, two intercontinental cups and many many domestic awards (leagues, King cups, pichici..etc).
He is history and present of the world footbal.
Please, a little respect to the alive legends of football.

Roberto, Madrid, Spain

what a shame of list. Van Persie???Frings???Vidic???they're nowhere near the top players

Raf, paris,

To Phil from Liverpool and Den from London, its an alternative top 50 the other top 50 posted on this site. do you not understand the meaning of the word alternative. Go back to school lads!!!.

Eamon , Dublin ,

To Den, London and Phil, Liverpool - please look at the article leader "based on our readers' lively response". This list hasn't been cobbled together by a sports hack.

Also, maybe Ryan Giggs has a few other qualities which place him at the top such as loyalty, honesty, humility.

These qualities are sadly lacking in the rest of the prima donnas who make up both this list and the original 50.

Colin, Wokingham, UK

giggs top, ferdinand 3rd!! was this list compiled solely of man utd fans wearing rose tinted glasses. Where is gerrard, carragher, terry, drogba, ronaldo, kaka, villa to name but a few. Giggs is an awesome player but has never been the best in his entire career

Phil, liverpool,

This was a list of the top footballers in the World; Ryan Giggs has been a very good player in the Premiership but I don't think he has proved himself in Europe, never mind the world. The same could be said for Man U, great in England, not so great in Europe, and as Giggs has only shone with Man U, I can't see any justification for including him in this list.

Den, London, Uk

Henry, fabregas, lampard, kaka, gerrard, cech, pirlo, messi, hleb, rosiki, ibrahimovic, sedorf, nesta? where are they?

manuel, santiago, chile

What is this list?

It's absolutely ridiculous! How can you state that Adriano, Luca Toni, Materazzi and Riquelme (to name a few) are of the 25 best players in the world??!

Whoever suggested such mediocre waffle clearly isn't in the know.

Sort it out.

Dan Jamieson, Nottingham,

So subjective, where is the Footballer of the year , Christiano Ronaldo ?

Richard, Camberley, Surrey

Silva? The most technically gifted left midfield in Europe. And a great striker (Remember Cech?)

Martin, Madrid, Spain

Yeeeaaaaaahhhhhh someone finally added Torsten Frings
He is the reason why Germany is doing well

chris the critics critic, cologne, Germany

I cannot believe people are going on about Kaka, Ronaldinho etc. This is an alternative list, as in an alternative to Marcotti's list which already features those players!

Adam, Jersey, C.I,,

do you know there was aplayer playing for AC Milan, helping them to win the Champions' League, named KAKA? have you ever heard of him? i guess, you did not, neither the readers who had expressed their opinions!
best of luck for all of you, really. it's an omission history will remember...

Kashinath Bhattacharjee, Calcutta, India

This list is completely WHACK!!!!! Javier Mascherano... WHAT?? are you kidding me how many games did he play last season 12?? This looks like the list from the retirement home with all these geezers on it.. TERRIBLE LIST!!!! Is anyone watching football anymore..??

Jamie, Tucson,, USA, AZ

where are the following??:
Steven Gerrard
Rooney
Henry

Ben, Oxford, England

its the man u t d bigots who are to blame for the readers top 25, giggs better than kaka, ha ha ha.

daniel ashwell, halifax, england

this list is so wrong ...it doesn't look like football anymore. its more like a list of past glory heroes. while u are at it put maradona or pele. We are dealing with 2007 /2008 People! the original list was simply excellent. Just to remind you...


1. Kaka (Milan)
2. Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
4. Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona)
5. Michael Essien (Chelsea)
6. Gigi Buffon (Juventus)
7. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) ......

Dilton, oldenburg , Germany

What's the fuss about Tevez? He could be great, but so far he has potential.....Giggs, 9 titles...Scholes, 8 titles...Vidic scored nearly as many goals as Tezev this season.
Sergio Ramos? Carragher, Ferdinand, Toure are all surely better.

Tom, Brighton, England

And STILL no Mancini!

Rich, Kristianstad, Sweden

Riquelme has just been man of the match in the Copa Libertadores final, and was awarded player of the tournament.

Not even mentioned? Well, it is now.

Ebren, Cambridge,

Paul Scholes?

Fraser, Jersey CI,

Errrr has anyone else not noticed that this isnt a top 25, this is basically a top 25 of the people who had their positions complained they were not high enough in the original list? Nobody complained about kaka being no1 hence he is not in this list, come on readers, don't be naive.

John, Essex,

What about Berbatov or Kaka! oh yeah and whats that other Blokes name? Ronaldinho is it? This article is obviously a manc plaing a joke!!

DDT , Manchester, UK

I took it seriouis untill I saw Rio at three, Alonso at 8? Even Liverpool fans say he's been terrible this season, you got him ahead some much better players.

Fact you got Adraino proves this is poor.

Though I guess it's easy to mock a list, Giggs does deserve top spot in those 25 players.

Steve, Kettering,

Surprised that the captain of Brazil (Gilberto) hasn't had a look in from anyone. Possibly one of the most underrated/overlooked players of this decade.

Angus C, Adelaide, Australia

Maschrano and Alonso make the list and they wouldn't make the top two in Liverpool

Peter Jones, Dorking,

Whoever thinks Cannavaro should be included obviously hasn't seen Madrid play a game this season.
He has clearly shown his limitations as a deffender, completely out of place, sent off 5 times (and should have been sent off nearly every game) and "no-name" Helguera has been brilliant in comparison. Only playing alongside Ramos has saved him from complete embarrasment.
World champion yes, top 25 in the world, no really.

Jacobo, Madrid, Spain

lehmann?? Frings?? Materazzi!!??? All before ronaldo and rooney!!!

Rodney Bugeja, Naxxar, Malta

Claude Makelele, a bit old, but the world's greatest holding midfielder deserves a spot on here

Graham, Paris,

gerrard will be in top 50, of course

aman, london,

are you a united fan by any chance. ferdinand???????? you're out of your mind

mike, london,

Haba, why where is the brazilian stars kaka, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo. u still hv Italian stars like Buffon, Gatuso, and ....... But did u still froget Tiery henry of bacelona and Ven nisteroy of real madrid.

Umar ali bukar, Jalingo, Nigeria

You idiots, its an 'alternative list' - therefore any players in the original 50 will not be in here! - Read properly before you comment...

Adam Whiting, London,

How can you say Rio Ferdinand is behind Terry and Carragher? He has pace, which neither Terry nor Carragher do, and that is vital in the modern game, as well as technique and skill.

Donnie, Manchester,

Giggs and Ferdinand!! Must be joking, Giggs although a loyal servant is now a squad player and Ferdinand is way behind Terry and Carragher.

chuck wilson, Stockport,

Neil and Liam

these are the top 25 of those who didnt appear inMarcotti's top 50, so yeah there are a few good players missing...

George, London, UK

Steven Gerrard???? Where is he?

ian, birmingham,

No Ronaldinho? No Kaka? No Cris Ronaldo? No Rooney? Come on, this is not the top 25. There are many players in this list that do not deserve to be there. I have to agree with you though that Giggs deserves the place.

shaq, Manchester, UK

what kind of list is this? absoluteley terrible selection, ryan giggs - number one, your havin a laugh. the utd carried him last season

t, f, f

Adriano ? Maldini? Toni??? Do you really watch world football ? Something about a player called Francesco Totti?
Regards

paolo, Roma, Italy

i think the first place must be given to zambrotta..

david, canada, canada

Xabi Alonso above Steven Gerrard??? Sort it out!

Neil Dawson, Crewe, Cheshire

no wayne rooney, paul scholes, van nistelrooy, RONALDO, drogba, ronaldinho?

Liam, Glossop, UK

thank you i mentioned 17 of these players when questioning marcotti's selections. Sometimes the people have better views than professionals...Gary Neville ahead of R|iquelme, Joaquin, Adriano, Toni, Ribery, Cannavaro....Honestly sort it out

Arvind Nair, London, England

No Arjen Robben in any of the selections ?

Carvalho has to be in - on current form probably the best central defender in the world.

Dino Joannides, London, UK