We all love a spectacular goal, a miraculous save or an earth shaking tackle, the big moments of our beautiful game. But the football stars which leave us amazed more than most are those playmakers, the magicians in the middle of the park who make the game tick.
History has been littered with these masters of the game with names like Francesco Totti, Andres Iniesta, and maybe the best of them all, Johan Cruyff as pioneers of playmaking. And we’re blessed with some fantastic exponents right now, so here are the five players this SBOTOP writer loves to watch.
Kevin De Bruyne
He’s widely considered to be the best Premier League player of the last decade, and Kevin De Bruyne has just picked up his fifth league title medal in six years and added a Champions League medal for good measure as Manchester City’s finest playmaker, among an embarrassment of riches at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne has also collected a hatful of personal awards, including three-time Premier League Playmaker of the Season and a place in the Champions League team of the season. The Belgian star has strength on the ball, incredible vision, and an astonishing range of passing, able the thread the killer ball through to his strikers week after week.
With the likes of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, and Phil Foden, Manchester City have a frightening array of creative players, but De Bruyne is the undisputed king of Manchester.
Luka Modric
If De Bruyne has wowed fans for a decade or more, Croatia and Real Madrid legend Luka Modric has two decades under his belt and he showed again last season what a class act he is.
He is Croatia’s most capped player in history and their best player of all time, making his international debut back in 2006. Now, 37-year-old Modric has led his small country to World Cup and Nations League finals, and he inspires his teammates through his breathtaking skills and composure on the pitch.
He still played to the very highest standard for Real Madrid last season and, though small in stature, he is a giant of the game, dictating the tempo.
He can evade tackles with a quick switch of direction and has a brilliant range of short and long passing, a speedy change of pace and a penchant for scoring spectacular goals.
The Peter Pan of European football still has more to give.
Marco Verratti
PSG’s central midfielder Marco Verratti has just won a record ninth Ligue 1 title, while being rated by Barca manager Xavi as one of the best midfielders in world football is some accolade.
With talent up front which boasts Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar, it was no surprise that the football 2023 betting odds backed the Parisiens for another title, but this stellar strikers will be the first to appreciate the work that Verratti does.
His composure in the high-pressure situations and ability to free himself from tight marking is second to none. Verratti has incredible ball control, brilliant dribbling skills, superb vision, and passing.
While he can play as a box-to-box midfielder, he often sits a little deeper and has the ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye. He is not shy in the tackle either and the Azzurri star has picked up his fair share of bookings over the years.
While life at the Parc des Princes is often a circus with players linked here there and everywhere, fans in Paris will be delighted their man in the middle is contracted to 2026.
Joshua Kimmich
One of the most versatile players in Europe, FC Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich is, once again, a league winner as the Bavarians came through again in May.
He has supreme football intelligence, equally comfortable as an attacking midfielder or a deep-lying playmaker, and Kimmich has provided more than his fair share of Football 2023 highlights.
He breaks up play, launches attacks, controls the pace of a game, and has the ability to find the space in which to operate, as well as seeking out a teammate with a beautifully measured pass.
While his skills are undoubtedly world class, like Verratti, Kimmich is a menace off the ball, pressing high and snapping into tackles, and this combination of the creative and the destructive makes him the perfect midfielder.
Pedri
Still only 20 years of age, Barcelona’s midfield maestro Pedri is one for the future, but he is already a master of the game, often playing a free role in the Blaugrana’s midfield.
He started off as a winger, but his composure and all-round ability make him the perfect central midfielder. Pedri is quick, intelligent, bursting with energy, and he has already been compared with Barca legend Andres Iniesta.
He cut his teeth with Las Palmas in the second tier, but the Catalans knew they had a special talent on their hands and he has already played 75 games for the Spanish champions, scoring 12 goals.
Touched by genius, Pedri will be a top playmaker for years to come.
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