Welcome to the 12th edition of the Guardian’s top 100 male footballers. A lot has happened since our first list in 2012 – not least to our online layout – but the system remains the same: we invite respected former players as well as journalists to be part of the voting panel and they submit their verdicts on who have been the best players in the world in 2023.
Back in 2012 we had 11 judges to decide the list. This year football luminaries such as Philipp Lahm, Karen Carney and Walter Casagrande are among the 218 judges taking part. Former players such as Aldair, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Gilles De Bilde also join a selection of coaches, broadcasters, reporters, correspondents and editors from around the world to form a knowledgable and truly global jury. The 19 current and former professionals have won a combined 1,041 international caps.
