The 50 Best Defenders In World Football Ranked After Danny Murphy’s Virgil Van Dijk Claim

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk failed to crack the top five of the 50 best defenders in world football right now, according to FootballCritic.

The 29-year-old Dutch centre-back has become an integral part of Liverpool's recent success since his £75m arrival from Southampton in 2018.

And even Danny Murphy has hailed Van Dijk as the best defender he has ever seen ahead of Premier League legends like Vincent Kompany, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.

However, FootballCritic used its algorithms to rank the 50 best defenders in world football right now, with the Netherlands captain finishing 12th.

Van Dijk received an 86 rating from FootballCritic, while fellow Liverpool teammate Joe Gomez finished 40th with an 82 rating.

Posted below are the 50 best defenders in world football right now, according to FootballCritic.

50. Ruben Dias (Manchester City): 81 rating

49. Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach): 81 rating

48. Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica): 81 rating

47. Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa): 81 rating

46. Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund): 81 rating

45. Yerry Mina (Everton): 81 rating

44. Murilo Cerqueira (Lokomotiv Moscow): 81 rating

43. Pedro Bigas (Eibar): 81 rating

42. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus): 81 rating

41. Jan Vertonghen (Benfica): 82 rating

40. Joe Gomez (Liverpool): 82 rating

39. Andreas Christensen (Chelsea): 82 rating

38. Nikola Maksimovic (Napoli): 82 rating

37. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli): 82 rating

36. Diego Carlos (Sevilla): 82 rating

35. James Tarkowski (Burnley): 82 rating

34. Jonny Evans (Leicester City): 82 rating

33. Felipe (Atletico Madrid): 82 rating

32. Joseph Aidoo (Celta): 82 rating

31. Stefan Savic (Atletico Madrid): 82 rating

30. Thiago Heleno (Paranaense): 82 rating

29. Felix Uduokhai (Augsburg): 82 rating

28. John Brooks (Wolfsburg): 83 rating

27. Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen): 83 rating

26. Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan): 83 rating

25. Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City): 83 rating

24. Simon Kjaer (AC Milan): 83 rating

23. Dimitrios Siovas (Huesca): 83 rating

22. Kurt Zouma (Chelsea): 83 rating

21. Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad): 84 rating

20. Harry Maguire (Manchester United): 84 rating

19. Fernandinho (Manchester City): 84 rating

18. Clement Lenglet (Barcelona): 84 rating

17. Caglar Soyuncu (Leicester City): 84 rating

16. Matthias Ginter (Bayer Leverkusen): 84 rating

15. Michael Keane (Everton): 85 rating

14. Jules Kounde (Sevilla): 85 rating

13. Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen): 86 rating

12. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool): 86 rating

11. Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich): 86 rating

10. David Alaba (Bayern Munich): 86 rating

9. Pau Torres (Villarreal): 86 rating

8. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain): 87 rating

7. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid): 87 rating

6. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund): 87 rating

5. Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain): 88 rating

4. Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig): 88 rating

3. Sven Bender (Bayer Leverkusen): 89 rating

2. Gerard Pique (Barcelona): 92 rating

1. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid): 96 rating

Featured Image Credit: PA/BBC

Topics: Football News, Sergio Ramos, Danny Murphy, Football, David Alaba, Dayot Upamecano, Mats Hummels, Gerard Pique, Virgil Van Dijk, Raphael Varane

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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