Bruno Guimaraes named in top 100 players in the world alongside two ex Newcastle United players

Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was listed in the prestigious ‘Marca 100’ which lists the 100 best players in the world each season, according to a panel of 73 experts across the globe.

Guimaraes arrived at Newcastle from Lyon in January for £33.3million and proceeded to score five goals in 11 Premier League starts for the Magpies as they climbed out of the relegation zone to finish 11th.

The 24-year-old quickly won the hearts of the Toon Army with his impressive performances on the pitch.

And over the course of the campaign, Guimaraes has been ranked as the 89th best player in the world during the 2021-22 season, according to Marca’s experts.

Some Newcastle fans may question why he’s not ranked higher, or why Joelinton is not on the list.

For context, Guimaraes’ close friend and former Lyon teammate Lucas Paqueta is ranked 77th. Former Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino is 75th following another impressive season at Real Sociedad while James Tavernier was just above him in 69th having helped Rangers reach the Europa League final.

Liverpool’s Mo Salah is the highest ranked Premier League player in fourth spot overall. Trent Alexander-Arnold, also of Liverpool, is the highest ranked Englishman in 13th. Phil Foden (Manchester City, 25th), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, 34th), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan, 46th) Declan Rice (West Ham United, 52nd), Mason Mount (Chelsea 54th), Reece James (Chelsea, 56th), Tammy Abraham (AS Roma, 61st) and Tavernier were the other English players to make the list.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema claimed top spot following a barnstorming season to help the Spanish side win La Liga and their 14th European Cup win. The veteran Frenchman scored 44 goals in 46 matches in all competitions last season, including several decisive goals in the Champions League winning campaign.

Marca justified the selection by stating: “The undisputed best player in the world during the 2021-22 season, Karim Benzema, has had a near-perfect year.

"Champion and winner of the Pichichi in La Liga, champion and top scorer in the Champions League, he overtook Di Stefano and equalled Raul as Real Madrid's second highest scorer in history, he won the Nations League with France.

"A dream year for Karim, whose goals in Real Madrid's Champions League comebacks will go down in the history of the competition and of the club. Number 1 in MARCA's 100 by a landslide, Karim gets the award and the recognition for a brilliant career.”

Here is the list in full:

100. Cody Gakpo – PSV

99. Deniz Undav – Union SG

98. Anthony Modeste – Koln

97. Fabio Viera – Porto

96. Taremi – Porto

95. Raul de Tomas – Espanyol

94. Charles De Ketelaere – Club Brugge

93. Martin Terrier – Rennes

92. Marco Reus – Borussia Dortmund

91. Sergio Gomez – Anderlecht

90. Jonathan Clauss – Lens

89. Bruno Guimaraes – Newcastle United

88. Giovanni Simeone – Hellas Verona

87. Fabian Ruiz – Napoli

86. Nahuel Molina – Udinese

85. Domenico Berardi – Sassuolo

84. Nico Schlotterbeck – Freiburg

83. Diego Carlos – Sevilla

82. Iker Muniain – Athletic Club

81. Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli

80. Bono – Sevilla

79. Gerard Deulofeu – Udinese

78. Dimitri Payet – Marseille

77. Lucas Paqueta – Lyon

76. Gleison Bremer – Torino

75. Mikel Merino – Real Sociedad

74. Luis Sinisterra – Feyenoord

73. Ousmane Dembele – Barcelona

72. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Lazio

71. Iago Aspas – Celta Vigo

70. Lorenzo Pellegrini – AS Roma

69. James Tavernier – Rangers

68. Wissam Ben Yedder – Monaco

67. Achraf Hakimi – Paris Saint-Germain

66. Karim Adeyemi – RB Salzburg

65. Patrik Schick – Bayer Leverkusen

64. Yannick Carrasco – Atletico Madrid

63. Antony – Ajax

62. Marcelo Brozovic – Inter Milan

61. Tammy Abraham – AS Roma

60. Sergio Canales – Real Betis

59. Pablo Sarabia – Sporting CP

58. Ciro Immobile – Lazio

57. Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain

56. Reece James – Chelsea

55. Ronald Araujo – Barcelona

54. Mason Mount – Chelsea

53. Aymeric Laporte – Manchester City

52. Declan Rice – West Ham United

51. Andrew Robertson – Liverpool

50. Diogo Jota – Liverpool

49. Ivan Perisic – Inter Milan

48. Filip Kostic – Eintracht Frankfurt

47. Sandro Tonali – AC Milan

46. Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan

45. Nabil Fekir – Real Betis

44. Sebastian Haller – Ajax

43. Raul Albiol – Villarreal

42. Mike Maingnan – AC Milan

41. Arnaut Danjuma – Villarreal

40. Rafael Santos Borre – Eintracht Frankfurt

39. Thomas Muller – Bayern Munich

38. Joshua Kimmich – Bayern Munich

37. Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan

36. Aurelien Tchouameni – Monaco

35. Gavi – Barcelona

34. Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur

33. Eder Militao – Real Madrid

32. Alisson Becker – Liverpool

31. Pedri – Barcelona

30. Antonio Rudiger – Chelsea

29. Theo Hernandez – AC Milan

28. Fabinho – Liverpool

27. Dusan Vlahovic – Juventus

26. Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain

25. Phil Foden – Manchester City

24. Fede Valverde – Real Madrid

23. David Alaba – Real Madrid

22. Thiago Alcantara – Liverpool

21. Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United

20. Rodri – Manchester City

19. Joao Cancelo – Manchester City

18. Darwin Nunez – Benfica

17. Son Heung-Min – Tottenham Hotspur

16. Cristopher Nkunku – RB Leipzig

15. Rafael Leao – AC Milan

14. Luis Diaz – Liverpool

13. Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool

12. Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund

11. Bernardo Silva – Manchester City

10. Sadio Mane – Liverpool

9. Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool

8. Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich

7. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City

6. Luka Modric – Real Madrid

5. Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain

4. Mo Salah – Liverpool

3. Vinicius Jr. – Real Madrid

2. Thiabaut Courtois – Real Madrid

1. Karim Benzema – Real Madrid