Our comprehensive round-up of the 10 best defenders in the world in 2023.
It’s fair to say the role of a defender has changed in recent years. Sure, stopping the opposition from scoring remains the core tenet of the position but dictating play by pinging the ball out from the back is in vogue.
We are most certainly living in the era of the ball-playing defender, while inverted full-backs are suddenly all the rage as managers look for tactical solutions to get their team scoring goals and winning matches.
It’s a tricky challenge building a list of the world’s best defenders as the different types of players bring different qualities to the game, but we’ve based our top 10 on long-term success as well as their general current level of ability, while ignoring any blips in form.
We’ve also factored in silverware, key stats and the all-important x-factor to form our list. Don’t worry, we know you’re probably going to disagree with our picks.
Just to give you a sense of how challenging it was to cut this list down to just 10 players, Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson, Chelsea stalwart Thiago Silva and Manchester City’s big summer signing Josko Gvardiol all missed the cut.
RadioTimes.com brings you our definitive list of the 10 best defenders in the world in 2023.
Check our more football features: Best players of all time | Best players in the world 2023 | Best strikers 2023 | Best midfielders 2023 | Best goalkeepers 2023 | Best young players 2023 | Best teams in the world 2023
10. Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)
A disappointing spell at Real Madrid is firmly in the past as Theo Hernandez has been electric for AC Milan since rocking up at the San Siro in 2019.
A return of 49 goal contributions from 145 appearances for Milan is indicative of his attacking qualities and he is, arguably, the most exciting left-back in world football thanks to his dazzling dribbles.
Hernandez has established himself as France’s first-choice left-back ahead of brother Lucas and even managed to notch in Les Bleus’s 2022 World Cup semi-final victory over Qatar. He’s a proper baller.
9. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold heads into the 2023-2024 campaign off the back of the most difficult season of his career, which can partly be attributed to Liverpool’s slump in form, but that’s no reason to mark him down too harshly.
The 24-year-old hasn’t exactly won over Gareth Southgate at international level, but he’s more than made his mark at club level with his outrageous range of passing and crossing. He has come under fire for his defensive ability but his attacking contributions make him the epitome of the modern day full-back.
A return of more than 70 assists and 16 goals in fewer than 300 appearances for Liverpool is frighteningly good and his trophy cabinet is bursting with individual and team honours.
8. Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
Chelsea have looked vulnerable at the back since losing Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid on a free transfer, and the 30-year-old has taken to the Bernabeu like a duck to water.
The beauty of Rudiger is that he does both sides of the game so well. He is comfortable on the ball and drags the rest of the team up the pitch, possesses a wicked shot, rarely gets beat in one-on-one situations and has enough pace to catch runners in behind.
A lack of international honours and league crowns, at the time of writing, count against the Germany star, although he was crucial part of Chelsea’s successful 2020/21 Champions League campaign.
7. Eder Militao (Real Madrid)
Eder Militao is probably not the first name that would have come to mind for a place in the top 10, but he is a class act that has been key to Real Madrid’s domestic and continental success in recent years.
The 25-year-old has had to share a place in the team with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba – more on those two later – but a sharp defensive mind and turn of foot make him a formidable centre-back for strikers to face.
As well as silverware with Los Blancos, Militao was part of Brazil’s Copa America-winning squad in 2019 and, crucially, has age on his side to climb higher up this list, although an ACL injury looks set to wreck his current campaign.
6. John Stones (Manchester City)
John Stones emerged as one of the key planks of Manchester City’s treble-winning team in 2022-2023.
The England international went from being a rotation option – due to injuries and competition – to one of the first names on Pep Guardiola’s team sheet thanks to his composure on the ball and ability to step into midfield.
Stones, 29, is one of the most decorated English players in the Premier League with five league titles among his trophy haul, while a place in the 2023 Champions League Team of the Season was richly deserved thanks to his dazzling display in the final.
5. Achraf Hakimi (PSG)
The best right-back in the world? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.
At 24 years of age, Achraf Hakimi has already played for four of the continent’s biggest clubs and won plenty of silverware including a Champions League, Serie A and Ligue 1 title.
With pace to burn and an eye for goal, Hakimi is a dangerous proposition for opposing full-backs but got a chance to show his defensive qualities during Morocco’s historic run to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar last year.
4. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
I know, I know. I said that any blips in form would be ignored but Virgil van Dijk hasn’t been at his best for a while now, although it’s perhaps a little unfair that he will always be judged on his previously unbelievable standards.
The Dutchman was the final piece in the puzzle for Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool finally won the Premier League in 2020 while the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup trophies are also on his CV.
A disappointing 2022-2023 campaign for the Reds can be partly attributed to Van Dijk enduring his toughest season in a while, but class endures and he is bound to be remembered as one of the Premier League’s best ever when he hangs up his boots.
3. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
A few eyebrows were raised when Manchester City stumped up more than £60 million and Nicolas Otamendi to prise Ruben Dias from Benfica in the summer of 2020, but he has been a class addition.
He was named the Premier League Player of the Season in his first season at the Etihad Stadium as City conceded the fewest goal en route to a comfortable title triumph to add to silverware won with Benfica and Portugal.
Dias comes across as an old-school centre-back in defensive situations as he uses his big frame to out-muscle opponents, but it is in possession that he really shines thanks to his pin-point passing and composure on the ball. A class act.
2. Marquinhos (PSG)
When you think of PSG players in recent years, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar spring to mind. Marquinhos doesn’t exactly have the va-va-voom of his superstar team-mates but he’s a vital cog at the back and the leader of the team.
The 76-cap Brazil international has won 20 major trophies since joining the French capital club in 2013 as well as an Olympic Gold Medal and the 2019 Copa America with his country.
You have to be a bit special on the ball to earn a place in one of the continent’s top teams but Marquinhos performs the basics of defending to a tee to make him an utterly reliable figure.
1. David Alaba (Real Madrid)
The ‘Honours’ section on David Alaba’s Wikipedia page is ridiculously long and stands as a testament to the fact that he is the complete package.
After 10 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, the nine-time Austrian Footballer of the Year opted for a free transfer to Real Madrid in 2021 where he played a regular role in their La Liga and Champions League triumph that term.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you that Alaba is the real deal, let’s not forget that he started out as a left-back capable of playing further forward in midfield before successfully converting into a ball-playing centre-back.
He’s got all the attributes you want from a defender – technique, composure on the ball, pace, power and, to top it off, he reads the game so well.
Who is the best defender in the world?
Real Madrid are blessed with options at the back but David Alaba is the cream of their crop.
It’s a shame that Alaba has never been able to strut his stuff on the biggest stage of them all, the World Cup, but he’s earned more than 100 caps for his country and has pretty much won all there is to win at club level.
He really is a modern-day great.
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