Player Power Rankings - December: Try as he might, Messi still trails Ronaldo

In this monthly feature, theScore's trio of footy editors will list - and then defend - the men they believe to be the 30 best footballers on the planet. Current form, past displays, the team they play for, positional elements, and even the so-called ability for players to step up and perform in the big moments will all be taken into account. 

You will agree with some. You will certainly disagree with many, many more.

The Big Board

An aggregate list of the top ten players, made up of the individual rankings from each of our three editors.

The Top 30

Each editor's individual list of 30 players. The real fun starts here.

Related: Player Power Rankings - October

On the Bubble

Out with Injury or Suspension

Superstars, superstars everywhere. This sport can be cruel.

Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), David Silva (Manchester City), Angel Di Maria (Manchester United), Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Defend Your List

Gianluca Nesci

Sergio Aguero is in THAT class

Note: At the time of writing, there has yet to be official confirmation on the length of Aguero's absence due to the knee injury he suffered this past weekend - though it's been reported that he will miss four weeks.

The best pure striker on the planet, bar none.

It's frightening to think where Manchester City - with all of their millions - would be without Aguero, who has scored a remarkable 30 goals in his last 33 Premier League appearances.

Is it just an absurdly good run that is unsustainable? In a word, no. 

The numbers don't lie. Aguero is generating a ridiculous 6.3 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season. Among qualified players, only Wilfried Bony (4.2) is in the same area code - and he's on the fringes. 

Among the top five European leagues, there's only one other player who can boast a similar proficiency in generating shot attempts. Yup, Cristiano Ronaldo (6.3 per 90 minutes). As Manuel Pellegrini has suggested on multiple occasions this season, Aguero is that good. 

Should he miss significant time with his latest knee problem, Manchester City's performances will only further reinforce how dominant the Argentine is, and confirm that he is indeed the best player in the world not named Ronaldo or Messi.

Alexis Sanchez is carrying an entire team on his back

I sincerely hope Alexis Sanchez has a fantastic acupuncturist who can help stave off his inevitable transformation into a hunchback. With each passing match, Sanchez's burden grows heavier at Arsenal.

Taking both the Premier League and Champions League into consideration, Arsenal has found the net 35 times this season. Sanchez, in the two competitions, has tallied 12 goals and 4 assists, meaning he has been directly involved in 46 percent of the team's goals this season.

This is not a relegation-threatened club who have one great player and a group of scrubs feeding him, and only him. QPR already fills that quota, thank you very much. The Gunners, irregardless of their substandard year thus far, are talented in attack. Absurdly so. And yet, Sanchez shines so much brighter than his teammates. 

Arsene Wenger must know the situation. Take away the supporter of the short-shorts, and his club would be in big trouble. It's no coincidence that Arsenal has won just two matches in which Sanchez hasn't scored this year.

Coming off a season in which he scored 19 goals and added 10 assists with Barcelona, he was largely dismissed. It was Barcelona, after all. You could generate numbers in that system, with those teammates. I mean, Messi, man.

It was grossly unfair to the Chilean, whose incredible engine is among the very best in the world. Now playing on a lesser team, he's getting the respect he deserved all along. Funny how things work, isn't it?

It's nice to have you back, Bastian

The world was a lesser place while Bastian Schweinsteiger was watching other, inferior people kick soccer balls around while he was recovering from ankle and knee problems.

The Bayern Munich midfielder made his first appearance since the World Cup final in a late November match against Hoffenheim, coming on as a substitute and promptly reminding everyone that he is among the world's best with a delicious assist to Sebastian Rode.

Few players in the world today are capable of dominating a midfield, at both ends, like Schweinsteiger. He's only played 34 minutes on the campaign thus far, which is a crying shame, because at 30 years old, he's still miles better than many of his younger counterparts. 

Are there better attacking midfielders around? Yes. More accomplished defensive midfielders? Sure. How many can not only be filed into both categories, and be considered among the very best in them? It's a short list, and Schweinsteiger is one of the foremost names on it.

You'll all be reminded of that as the season goes along.

Gordon Brunt 

Lionel Messi’s record-breaking month shoots him into top spot

It’s almost impossible to imagine a scenario where another football player accomplishes the career milestones Lionel Messi achieved in November.

Setting the illustrious mark for goals in the Spanish league is enough to make one consider placing the Argentine maestro ahead of Crisitiano Ronaldo, but to add the Champions League goals record to his CV just days later was the tipping point in the decision to lift Messi past the only comparable footballer on the planet.

Needing just one goal to match former Athletic Bilbao forward Telmo Zarra's La Liga mark of 251, Messi was obviously in the mood to end the suspense when Barcelona clashed with Sevilla on Nov. 22.

A sublime free kick 21 minutes into the match put him level with Zarra. He was far from finished, as Messi went on to break the record in the second half and added another goal six minutes later to complete the hat trick.

Three days later, in the middle of a tense race with Ronaldo to pass Raul’s Champions League goal-scoring record of 171, Messi came away with the feat in fashion after netting his second consecutive hat trick in Barca’s match against Apoel.

Messi probably goes to the top after breaking one of the records, but setting two historic marks in consecutive games at such a blistering pace is a moment that will be remembered for generations to come.

Cesc Fabregas on pace for record-breaking season

Part of the driving force behind Chelsea’s early-season success has been the reliable presence of Cesc Fabregas and his ability to transition back into a league where the foundation of his skill-set began as a teenager.

Fabregas’ transfer from Barcelona during the summer could go down as the most significant of the lot. His years of Premier League experience with Arsenal, coupled with further development in La Liga for three seasons, have moulded the Spanish midfielder into a player that exudes confidence and rarely shows signs of distress as he commands a Chelsea squad loaded with talent.

Manager Jose Mourinho appears to prefer deploying Fabregas in a deeper role in the midfield, allowing him to assume a greater responsibility while orchestrating the Chelsea attack. He leads the Premier League in assists and could smash the league’s record if he can keep up his current pace.

His 11 assists are just nine shy of Thierry Henry’s record and just two away from his season-high with Arsenal in 2010. Barring injuries, the Premier League should have a new assists king by May.

Isco playing beyond his years

Isco’s maturity and the assurance he displays in the midfield isn’t going unnoticed by Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, as the Spaniard’s name continues to appear on the team sheet before important clashes domestically and abroad.

Breaking into a Real Madrid squad as talented as the current crop would normally be an unlikely scenario for a 22-year-old, but Isco’s contributions on the pitch continue to yield results and will continue to make the decision to keep him out of the starting XI close to impossible for the manager.

His versatility is an asset any team would covet as the young Spaniard has proven his capabilities in the midfield and attacking positions.

Xabi Alonso transitioning well to life in Germany

The move to Germany is proving to be a natural fit for Xabi Alonso after transferring away from Real Madrid in the summer.

The Spanish midfielder is continuously included in Bayern Munich's starting lineup, despite his advanced age, and adds his wealth of experience to fashion the Bundesliga champions into one of the world's most dominating squads.

While Bayern would likely continue to be one of the top teams without his inclusion, Alonso's sustained presence in the midfield is evidence of the respect manager Pep Guardiola has for the 33-year-old Spaniard.

Carlo Campo

Stop overlooking Manuel Neuer

The debate over a 'keeper's value continues.

Once again, I find myself ranking Manuel Neuer higher than my colleagues. This time, however, the Bayern Munich 'keeper finds himself cracking the top five on my list.

Neuer enjoyed yet another impressive month in November as he only conceded three goals through six Bundesliga and Champions League matches. And of course, there were his usual moments of brilliance, where he rushed out 40 yards to break up a counterattack or played a back-heel pass to a defender, a move that most 'keepers have no business deploying.

There's no doubting that Neuer is more efficient between the posts than any other 'keeper these days, and his dominance recently saw him named as one of the three finalists for this year's Ballon d'Or award. Most people will claim that no Neuer has no business capturing such an honour, particularly as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the two top footballers on this planet, are the other two finalists. But as long as 'keepers are eligible for the award, and as long as Neuer is churning out the type of performances that he has recently, he whole-heartedly deserves to be included in the discussion.

Until the day where a clear and accurate way of comparing a 'keeper's value to an outfield player's value emerges, the argument over where Neuer stands among the world's top footballers will remain endless and he'll continue to be overlooked. So, for now, let's acknowledge that we're witnessing one of the greatest 'keepers ever in action, and give him the respect he deserves.

Kevin De Bruyne is 'surely one of the best players Wolfsburg have ever had'

It's looking a lot like 2008-09 over at Volkswagen Arena, and a large reason for that is Kevin De Bruyne.

Six seasons since Wolfsburg captured their first-ever Bundesliga title, the club sits second in the Bundesliga table with 29 points from their opening 14 fixtures and only seven points behind league-leaders Bayern Munich.

De Bruyne has turned himself into an assist machine this campaign, registering nine throughout the season, a figure only bettered by Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas in Europe's top leagues, as well as another two in the Europa League. But, perhaps more importantly, the Belgian attacking midfielder is averaging an absurd 3.8 key passes per match, setting up opportunities on a plate for the likes of Ivica Olic, Daniel Caligiuri and Ivan Perisic that are fueling Wolfsburg's success.

Few teams are thriving off the style of play of a single player the way that Wolfsburg are benefiting from De Bruyne, and it should come as no surprise that WhoScored currently ranks him seventh among all players in Europe.

"Kevin is surely one of the best players Wolfsburg have ever had," teammate and defender Marcel Schafer recently said, a sentiment that will likely increase as the season goes on.

Dimitri Payet is tearing Ligue 1 backlines apart

Earning recognition in Ligue 1 can be a tough task, but there can be no doubting just how influential Dimitri Payet has been for Marseille this season.

Similarly to De Bruyne, the attacking midfielder's vision has been the driving force behind his side's success this campaign, as Marseille sit at the top of the Ligue 1 table with 38 points from 17 fixtures, one above PSG, who won the league in 2013-14.

Not only does Payet lead Europe's top leagues with 3.9 key passes per game and rank third in assists with eight, but he offers a goal-scoring threat for Marseille that forces opposing defenders to mark him tightly while also worrying about the potential of a lethal through ball being played.

He offers all the qualities that clubs want to see in a No. 10, and his performance in Marseille's 3-1 win over Metz on Sunday allowed for an accurate summary of his versatility. Payet assisted on Marseille's first goal, was involved the second, and scored the third himself. Perfection.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa appears to have once again brought out the best in a player with Payet.

Southampton can go as far as Dusan Tadic takes them

This was supposed to be the point in the season where Southampton fell off, and although the club are winless in their last three Premier League fixtures, they sit fourth in the table and appear poised to compete for a Champions League berth.

Whether or not Southampton qualify for Europe's most prestigious club competition lies heavily in the feet of Dusan Tadic, whose passing abilities have led to six assists this season and proved to be a nightmare for opposing backlines. He can create chances from either flank, possessing the ability to cut in perfectly before unleashing a devastating through ball. In fact, if he wasn't deployed as a winger, Tadic would likely be viewed as a classic No. 10 simply because of his playmaking abilities.

The £11 million that Southampton paid FC Twente for Tadic is looking like one of the steals of the summer, and if Tadic's form keeps up, one of the Premier League's giants will likely be subjected to the confines of the Europa League.