It’s here, 90 minutes ranked among the top five left-wing forwards in the world.
The series “Welcome to the world class” is built on the principle that to be considered world class must being among the top five players in the world in your position, given that it’s a term that is often tossed around too easily with no real definition.
The process of naming the world class left forwards playing today started with a roster of 10 contenders that was reduced to final five using real methodology you can read. here.
The next five players are those who made the cut to be considered “world class” left-wing forwards, ranked fifth to best. But who makes him number one?
Raheem Sterling is a different player than the one Manchester City bought for £ 49million in 2015. At the time, the former Liverpool talent was only 20 years old, an unpolished gem capable of brilliant things but often infuriating and inconsistent – as are most young players.
But the arrival of Pep Guardiola in Manchester changed things for Sterling. He’s always been naturally gifted, but Guardiola has taught him to expect and demand more of himself in order to make the most of all that ability and make it count when it matters most.
These days, Sterling is clinical and deadly, leaving the young waster he once was in his wake to become one of the top five left-wing strikers on the planet.
Raheem Sterling is fifth in the Welcome to World Class 90-minute left-wing forward list. Learn more about why Sterling is world class here.
Arsenal have been worn by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang since joining the club three years ago and the Gunners would be in a much worse situation today without their boss and talisman.
Aubameyang arrived as a prolific striker from the Bundesliga and has never looked out of place or uncomfortable in the Premier League. He scored 70 goals in all competitions in his first two and a half years at Arsenal and was more or less solely responsible for the club’s 2019/20 finish with silverware.
He has remained loyal to Arsenal but would have improved any team in 2020.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is fourth in the list of 90-minute Welcome to World Class left forwards. Learn more about why Aubameyang is world class here.
Neymar is a generational talent in a country that has produced superstar after superstar for decades. The scary thing is that even at 28, he still isn’t as good as he could be and has time to establish himself as the best in the world before he retires.
Even though there is untapped potential, Neymar has achieved more at the club level in Europe than his predecessors like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, while he enjoyed the kind of longevity that is not usually associated with Brazilian flair players. .
Injuries at the hands of overzealous Ligue 1 defenders, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, have limited his number of games since joining PSG in 2017, but he remains unplayable when in form.
Neymar is third in the list of 90-minute Welcome to World Class left-wing strikers. Learn more about why Neymar is world class here.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a lot of detractors, but you can’t ignore the numbers he has built up throughout his career and continues to do so now, even as he nears his 36th birthday.
He hasn’t had the same impact in Europe over the past two years as at Real Madrid, but 2019/20 marked a return to his old form, scoring 31 Serie A goals for Juventus and recording his best league total since 2015/16.
Ronaldo is totally unbreathable as he is never satisfied and has the best and most motivated mentality of anyone playing today. Because of this, 2020/21 saw it kick in again.
Even at his age, he was very close to number one.
Cristiano Ronaldo sits second on the 90-minute Welcome to World Class left-wing forward list. Learn more about why Ronaldo is world class here.
Mohamed Salah is more applauded and Roberto Firmino is a more polite technical player, but Sadio Mane was Liverpool’s most important striker as the Reds ended 30 years of waiting for Premier League glory in a truly spectacular.
He has improved every year of his career so far, better and better, is truly electric and so often makes a decisive difference in a squad already packed with world class players.
Consistency has been key to his success over the past couple of years which means Liverpool can always look to him. Jurgen Klopp even called Mane a “complete” player because he does a lot for the team both in attack and defense and always works.
Mane has done it at the highest level and in defining moments to win the biggest prizes club football has to offer in recent years. That’s why there is currently no better one.
Sadio Mane ranks first in the 90-minute Welcome to World Class left-wing forward list. Learn more about why Mane is world class here.
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