Five superstar players who can overthrow current footballing titans

Following Chelsea star Eden Hazard’s claim that he is not amongst the top five footballers in the world right now, Coral take a look at some outsiders who could break into that list.

“I’m not a top-five player yet,” the Belgian recently stated. “Maybe I’m close to it, but I still have to work on some aspects. You can only be part of that group if you are decisive in the top games. I [have started] doing that, like I did against Manchester City and Arsenal.

Hazard then admitted: “Who are better than me? The two extra-terrestrials, Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Franck] Ribery and [Arjen] Robben. They make the difference almost every game.”

Last year’s Ballon d’Or suggested that Ronaldo, Messi, Ribery, Ibrahimovic and Neymar were the best players in the sport (in that order) in 2013. However, here is a list of five more special individuals, who writers at Coral believe can challenge those superstars in the next few seasons.

Gareth Bale
Bale’s rise from a left back struggling to get into Tottenham’s first team just a few years ago to now shining so brightly for Spanish giants Real Madrid has been dramatic.

While still in Ronaldo’s shadow, the Welsh wizard, 25, is going from strength to strength, and has scored an incredible 27 times (and made almost as many assists) in his 56 appearances for Los Blancos.

Thomas Muller
While the German attacker doesn’t possess the skill, flair or pace as the others on this list, he does have a game-changing determination and positional sense that so many with more natural ability crave.

Muller, 25, makes this list due to his incredible scoring achievements for both club and country, despite not being an out-and-out striker. In 266 senior Bayern appearances, he has netted 103 times and set up nearly as many for teammates, while for Germany he has 16 goals in 25 – 10 of them at World Cup finals. You can back Bayern at 7/2 to win the Champions League this season.

Raheem Sterling
It is hard to believe that the Jamaican-born Liverpool (11/10 Premier League top four chances) winger is still only 19, but Sterling is already arguably the most exciting player England have to offer.