With an estimated 3.5 billion fans, football is the most popular sport in the world. Fans are heavily invested in the sport, whether that involves travelling to a team’s stadium, watching matches live on TV or placing bets safely through sites which are recommended by Gambling Zone, the trusted online gambling comparison site.
Of course, to provide this entertainment, there needs to be football players. Some of today’s biggest footballers hail from all over the world, from the Netherlands and Spain to England and Brazil.
But which countries produce the best players?
By analysing competition wins, player awards, market values and the number of players in the top five leagues, we’ve discovered which areas of the world have the most talented footballers.
Argentina Produces Most Talented Male Footballers
Score 9.75/10
Although football is a gender-neutral sport, the profession is heavily dominated by men. Despite being only 23 years old, Erling Haaland, of Norwegian descent, is considered to be one of the best football players in the world right now.
Other notable current players include Robert Lewandowski, who is of Polish descent, Kevin De Bruyne, who is of Belgian descent and Mohamed Salah, who is of Egyptian descent.
1) Argentina - 9.75/10 Male Talent Score
The country producing the most talented male footballers is Argentina, scoring a highly impressive 9.75/10. There are currently 70 players from the country who are involved in the top five male football leagues around the world. This includes the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Emiliano Martínez and Paulo Dybala.
Argentina’s men’s national team has an estimated market value of €791.7 million (£684.5 million or $864.7 million) and has achieved 24 tournament wins, including winning the FIFA World Cup three times. The Ballon d'Or has been won by an Argentinian player ten times, compared to seven FIFA World Player of the Year wins. This is the highest number of Ballon d’Or wins for any country.
2) Brazil - 9.67/10 Male Talent Score
In second place is Brazil, with an overall score of 9.67/10. There are 97 Brazilian-born footballers who are playing in the top five male football leagues, such as Alisson Becker, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.
Brazil’s men’s national team have won 21 tournaments over the years, including five FIFA World Cup wins. The team’s estimated market value stands at a huge €1.09 billion (£942.3 million or $1.19 billion). Brazilian players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award eight times and achieved five Ballon d’Or wins.
3) France - 9.63/10 Male Talent Score
Following closely behind is France, who scored an admirable 9.63/10. There are currently 337 players from the country (second only to Spain with 449 players) involved in the top five male football leagues. This includes the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Ibrahima Konaté and Anthony Martial.
France’s men’s national team has an estimated market value of €1.06 billion (£916.3 million or $1.16 billion) and has achieved ten tournament wins, including winning the FIFA World Cup twice. The Ballon d’Or has been won by a French player seven times, compared to three FIFA World Player of the Year wins.
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The US Produces Most Talented Female Footballers
Score 9.86/10
Women’s football has seen considerable growth in recent years, particularly across Europe and North America. In 2019, it was estimated that over 13 million females were now playing organised football across the world.
England’s female national football team saw huge success in the 2023 FIFA World Cup, with players such as Mary Earps, Georgia Stanway and Lucy Bronze leading the team to becoming runners-up in the tournament.
1) United States - 9.86/10 Female Talent Score
The country producing the most talented female footballers, is the United States, scoring an impressive 9.86/10. Currently, there are 257 USA-born footballers who are playing in the top five female football leagues around the world, such as Alex Morgan, Lindsey Horan and Claire Falknor.
The United States women's national team have won 34 tournaments over the years, including four FIFA World Cup wins. The team’s current estimated market value stands at €3.39 million (£2.93 million or $3.71 million). American players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award six times, as well as achieving one Ballon d’Or win.
2) Spain - 9.33/10 Female Talent Score
Spain is not too far behind, scoring an admirable 9.33/10. There are currently 104 players from the country who are involved in the top five female football leagues. This includes the likes of Aitana Bonmatí, Marta Cazalla and Maitane López Millàn.
Spain’s national team currently has an estimated market value of €4.33 million (£3.73 million or $4.74 million) and has achieved three tournament wins, including one FIFA World Cup win. The Ballon d’Or has been won by a Spanish player three times, compared to two FIFA World Player of the Year wins.
3) Germany - 7.69/10 Female Talent Score
In third place is Germany, achieving an overall score of 7.69/10. Currently, there are 201 German-born footballers who are playing in the top five female football leagues, such as Lena Petermann, Sara Däbritz and Laura Benkarth.
Germany’s national team have won eight tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup twice. The team’s estimated market value stands at €3.31 million (£2.86 million or $3.63 million). Despite German players never having won the Ballon d’Or award, they have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award five times.
Spain's Men And US Women Players Dominate Top 5 Leagues
Spain Men 449, US Women 257
There is a vast array of different leagues across men’s football, with the top five being the Premier League in the UK, the Bundesliga in Germany, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy and Ligue 1 in France. Almost 2,900 men play within these top five leagues, with Spain making up the largest portion of this figure (449 players).
This is then followed by France with 337 players, Italy with 272 players, Germany with 271 players and England with 229 players.
Due to football being a predominantly male sport, there aren’t as many different leagues across women’s football. However, the top five leagues include the Women’s Super League in the UK, the Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany, Liga F in Spain, the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States and Division 1 Féminine in France.
Over 1,340 women play within these top five leagues, with the United States making up the largest portion of this figure (257 players). This is then followed by France with 203 players, Germany with 201 players, England with 118 players and Spain with 104 players.
Mexico's Men And US Women Teams Have Most Tournament Wins
Mexico Men 27, US Women 34
As well as countless football leagues, there are plenty of different tournaments, with the biggest, of course, being the FIFA World Cup. The male national team with the most tournament wins is Mexico.
Over the years, they have won 27 tournaments, including 12 Concacaf Gold Cup tournaments. Despite this high number of wins, they have never gotten further than the quarter-finals in the FIFA World Cup. Argentina has the second-highest number of tournament wins, standing at 24, followed by Uruguay with 22 wins.
Although there is the female equivalent of the men’s FIFA World Cup, the competition has been running for a significantly shorter time. While the men’s tournament was first introduced in 1930, the women’s equivalent wasn’t founded until 1991.
The female national team with the most tournament wins by far is the United States. Over the years, they have won 34 tournaments, including four FIFA World Cup wins. Despite being far behind the United States, China has the second-highest number of tournament wins, standing at nine. This is followed by Germany, Brazil and Japan, who all have eight wins.
Argentina's Men And Spain's Women Have Most Ballon d’Or Wins
Argentina Men 10, Spain Women 3
The Ballon d’Or is a highly prestigious award within the football industry, with the ceremony being held annually in Paris, France. The award was first introduced for men in 1956 and honoured the player who was perceived to have performed the best over the previous calendar year.
Initially, the winner was voted for by football journalists and only European players were eligible. However, the award is now open to footballers of any nationality, is measured based on a football season rather than a calendar year and is also voted for by the top 100 countries in the FIFA World Ranking.
The country that has won the most male Ballon d’Or awards is Argentina, racking up ten wins over the years. Lionel Messi has been responsible for eight of these ten wins and even received the award for four consecutive years between 2009 and 2012. The award has also been won twice by Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1957 and 1959.
Despite the men’s award running for nearly 70 years, the women’s award wasn’t introduced until 2018. Spain has won the most female Ballon d’Or awards, garnering three wins since the award was founded.
Aitana Bonmatí was responsible for all three wins between 2021 and 2023. The first-ever award was won by Ada Hegerberg, who is from Norway and the following year, the award was won by Megan Rapinoe, who is from the United States. No awards were given in 2020 for either gender due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brazil's Men And US Women Have Most FIFA Player Of The Year Awards
Brazil Men 8, US Wone 6
The FIFA World Player of the Year award is another annual ceremony and was first introduced in 1991. It is based on how well players have performed within a calendar year, as well as how they conduct themselves both on and off the pitch. For a brief period of time (2010-2015), the award was combined with the Ballon d’Or to create the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Between 1991 and 2015, the winner was voted for by coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives. However, in 2016 the award was split into The Best FIFA Men’s Player and The Best FIFA Women’s Player. The general public also became eligible to vote, meaning that each group (public, coaches, captains and the media) has 25% of the overall vote.
The country that has won the most male FIFA World Player of the Year awards is Brazil, which has accumulated eight wins to date. The following players have all won the award: Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká.
Ronaldo (not to be confused with Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo) is the youngest player ever to win the award. He first won in 1996 when he was just 20 years old. His second win came the following year in 1997, and he won for the third time in 2002. Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are the only two players ever to win the award in consecutive years.
The countries that have won the most female FIFA World Player of the Year awards are the United States and Brazil, both achieving six wins over the years. Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe have all won the award for the United States, while Marta is the only player to have won the award for Brazil. Of Marta’s six wins, five were in consecutive years between 2009 and 2010. In addition to her six wins, Marta has also placed second five times and placed third twice.
England's Men And Spain Women Teams Have Highest Market Value
England Men €1.15 billion, Spain Women €4.33
The market value of football players is extremely important within the sport, particularly when it comes to things such as transfer windows and the expiration of contracts. The male national team with the highest market value is England, standing at a huge €1.15 billion (£990.7 million or $1.26 billion).
Currently, the most valuable player on the team is 22-year-old Bukayo Saka, who plays as a right winger and is worth €120 million (£103 million or $131 million). Saka is then followed by Declan Rice, Phil Foden and team captain Harry Kane, who are all worth €110 million (£9.48 million or $120 million).
The female national team with the highest market value is Spain, standing at €4.33 million (£3.73 million or $4.74 million). The most valuable player on the team is 25-year-old Aitana Bonmatí, who plays as a midfielder and is worth €600,000 (£516,888 or $656,430).
This is then followed by 27-year-old Mariona Caldentey, who plays as a striker and is worth €300,000 (£258,244 or $328,215), and 24-year-old Ona Batlle, who plays in defence and is worth €275,000 (£236,906 or $300,864).
Methodology
We began by using FBREF to gather the nationalities of all of the players within the top five football leagues for both males and females. For the males, this included the following leagues: Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1. For the females, this included the following leagues: Women’s Super League, Frauen-Bundesliga, Liga F, National Women’s Soccer League and Division 1 Féminine.
We then used SoccerWay to discover how many tournaments each country’s national team had won.
Next, we used topendsports to gather the number of times that a player from each country had won the Ballon d’Or or FIFA World Player of the Year award.
We used transfermarkt and soccerdonna to gather the market value for each country’s male and female national teams. All currencies were converted on 3 January 2024.
Finally, we gave each country a normalised score out of ten for each factor and then took an average across all factors to form our overall score.
