Top World Football Club Rankings – October 2021
The world’s best football clubs ranking
#1 Paris Saint-Germain
No team bolstered their lineup in the offseason like PSG. The addition of recent Copa America winner Lionel Messi on a free transfer from Barcelona was a real steal for the Parisians. Adding goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, hot off his Euro Cup victory with Italy gives PSG the strongest goalkeeping tandem in the world. Taking Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid, who was their captain and Achraf Hakimi from Italian champions Inter Milan bolster the defensive unit of the club. Certainly no other club in the world has the star power of PSG. They are running away with an early six point lead in the Ligue 1 standings. A 2-0 victory over Manchester City September 28, proves PSG has made up substantial ground since losing to Manchester City twice in the Champions League Semi-final five months ago.
#2 Manchester City
The Premier League Champions under coach Pep Guardiola, play perhaps the most attractive brand of football in the world. Paying 100 million pounds for Jack Grealish, from Aston Villa in the offseason, helped Man City stay ahead of their competitors. Defeating European Champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London showed they could finally beat them. Man City looked to be a slightly better team than Liverpool throughout most of the match against them at Anfield on October 3. Manchester City look like the strongest team in England. They are favoured by oddsmakers to defend their Premier League Title.
#3 Chelsea
The defending European Champions are at the top of the Premier League table heading into the international break. Despite losing to Manchester City they are still two points ahead of them and one point up over Liverpool in the Premiership. The addition of Romelu Lukaku from Italian Serie A Champions Inter Milan in the offseason shows they have strengthened their squad. Chelsea aim to defend their European title and win the Premier League. They look just as strong or even better than they were a few months ago, however their main competitors look to have improved even moreso.
#4 Bayern Munich
Bayern are playing spectacular football so far this season in all competitions. Victory over Dortmund in the German Super Cup was a great start to their season. A 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig proved their dominance in the Bundesliga. A 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League was an outstanding performance, especially to do so at the Camp Nou. They’ve been scoring a ton of goals, averaging more than three goals per game with a 27-7 goal differential in the Bundesliga. Bayern has an 8-0 goal differential in the Champions League over their first two matches.
#5 Liverpool
Although Manchester City looked the better team in the first half on October 3 at Anfield, Liverpool came out blazing in the second half. Mohammed Salah was the man of the match with a goal and an assist helping Liverpool to twice take the lead. Although Liverpool could not quite beat Manchester City they proved they are of similar quality. Liverpool have won both of their Champions League games and are only a point off the Premier League lead. They remain the only undefeated team in the Premier League at the start of the October international break.
#6 Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid sit level on points at the top of Spain’s La Liga. Seeing Antoine Griezmann back in the Red and White stripes was a great addition for Atletico in the offseason. The defending La Liga Champions have looked solid again, disposing of Barcelona 2-0 on October 2. They defeated AC Milan in the Champions League on September 28 and hope to win that competition as well someday. Their Champions League match against Liverpool on October 19 should be a real test to see where they stand in Europe.
#7 Real Madrid
Real Madrid sit atop of the La Liga standings, ahead of Atletico Madrid on goal differential. After a very strong start to their season they have lost their last two games. They should easily be defeating teams such as FC Sheriff in the Champions League. They also lost to Espanyol 2-1 on October 3 when a win or a draw would have moved them past Atletico in the La Liga table. They should be favoured quite handily to win over Barcelona in the El Clasico on October 24. They remain firmly ahead of their old rivals Barcelona, however their Madrid rival Atletico now appears to be their biggest competitor in La Liga.
#8 Manchester United
Man U sits in fourth place in the Premier League with 14 points over seven matches. Their fans were ecstatic to see Cristiano Ronaldo back at Old Trafford. So far he has not disappointed, scoring five goals in his first six contests in all competitions. They have improved the squad by adding Ronaldo, however he’s not the same player he was when he left over a decade ago. They have an excellent squad, however they lose too many games they should be winning to challenge for the Premiership or the Champions League. They are already eliminated from the Carabao Cup, which should give them time to focus on more important competitions.
#9 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are playing very well in the Bundesliga in Germany, sitting in third place in that competition. They are playing even better in the European Champions League, winning their first two games. Dortmund’s 4-3 victory over Leverkusen last month shows they are probably the second best team in Germany. Holding on to Erling Haland is vital towards Dortmund’s success, having scored seven goals in five Bundesliga matches. Dortmund will require a world record transfer fee to pry Haland away.
#10 Napoli
Napoli are having a perfect season so far in Italy’s Serie A. They have won all seven games they have played in that competition. However they haven’t won either of their matches in the Europa League this season. They look to be Italy’s best team so far. However, I’m not sure they can keep up the pace to become Serie A champions for the first time since the Diego Maradonna era. They look like favourites to qualify for the Champions league next season.
#11 AC Milan
AC Milan are undefeated after seven matches in Italy’s Serie A. The only time they dropped points in that competition was to Juventus on September 19. They lost 3-2 in Liverpool, and 2-1 against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. They were very close games with AC Milian leading in the second half of both those matches. Winning 2-0 against Lazio on September 12, and 3-2 against Atalanta October 3 were their most important wins this season. They certainly look like they will hold on to a Champions League position by finishing in Italy’s top four.
#12 Inter Milan
The defending Italian Serie A champions lost their leading goal scorer Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea in the offseason. This was a huge blow to their squad, however they are still in contention as Italy’s top club. Inter sit in third place only four points back of the Serie A lead. October games against Lazio, then Juventus should be a good warm up for the Milan derby on November 7. Inter Milan have 17 points in seven Serie A matches.
#13 Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen are having an excellent season sitting tied atop the Bundesliga table with Bayern Munich. After seven Bundesliga matches Leverkusen have 16 points, their only defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund. They’ve played well in Europe winning both their Europa League matches this season. Their showdown with Bayern Munich is set for Sunday October 17 at the Bay Arena.
#14 Sevilla
Sevilla was handed their first loss of the season in all competitions on October 3 in Granada. La Liga is a difficult competition and having to play in the Champions League as well is a heavy schedule. Sevilla have kept pace though and are only three points back of the La Liga lead with a game in hand. They’ve drawn both their Champions League matches and face Lille in their next two European matches.
#15 Everton
Everton is playing well enough for fifth place on goal differential in the world’s top domestic league. With 14 points in seven Premier League matches Everton sit level on points with Man City and Man U. They held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on October 1 and that helped to get them on this list. Without the added pressure of European football this season Everton should have more time to prepare for the rigours of the Premier League.
#16 Juventus
Juventus has been so used to winning in Italy, it’s strange to see them so far down in the Serie A table. After a slow start to the season they haven’t lost since September 11 against Napoli. Their recent 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League shows they are still capable of winning at the highest level. With all the superstars including several players from Italy’s victorious Euro Cup team, Juventus should rocket up the standings quickly.
#17 Barcelona
Barcelona are having one of their worst seasons ever by their high standards. The loss of Lionel Messi has devastated the club. Former Barcelona striker Luiz Suarez scored a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory for Atletico on October 2. Their loss to Atletico was their first of the La Liga campaign. Two 3-0 defeats in the Champions League show that Barcelona are no longer a dominant European force. However, they do have a lot of great young talent on this squad. So it’s only a matter of time before they turn this ship around. I don’t believe Barcelona will finish outside the top four in La Liga.
#18 Real Sociedad
Since losing their first match of the season 4-2 against Barcelona on August 15, Real Sociedad have not lost. They sit level on 17 points with the Madrid clubs for La Liga’s top spot, but are third on goal differential. They’ve drawn both their Europa League matches and hope to continue playing high calibre European football.
#19 Freiburg
Freiburg are having an amazing season so far, having not lost a match yet. They are currently one point off the top spot in the German Bundesliga. Their win over Borussia Dortmund on August 21 showed they are capable of beating one of Germany’s biggest clubs. If Freiburg can keep this up for the rest of the season they might find themselves playing European football next season.
#20 Brighton and Hove Albion
After watching Brighton get the best of Arsenal in a 0-0 draw on October 2, they deserve to be on this list. They outplayed the Gunners throughout the match and looked like a top Premier League club. They sit at 14 points in the Premiership table, level with Man City, Man U, and Everton. Their loss to Everton on August 28, was their only defeat of the season. Their 2-1 victory over Leicester city has been their biggest win so far.
