With the conclusion of the UEFA tournaments and domestic leagues, we thought this would be a great time to update our global club “soccer” power rankings. In these ranks, we will go over our top ten clubs:
1. Chelsea
Less than five months after taking over Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel has taken the club to the pinnacle of the sport by winning the Champions League for only the second time in club history. Two months ago, we had Chelsea ranked third, but the club has earned their way to the top.
2. Manchester City
There is no doubt that Manchester City has one of the most talented rosters in the world. They also one of the best managers in Pep Guardiola, but it seems like he out-managed himself in the Champions League Final by choosing not to start a defensive midfielder for the first time all year. Still, Pep’s City is Premier League champions and they rightfully belong near the top of our ranks.
3. Bayern Munich
It was kind of surprising to see how poorly this club has performed in the absence of Lewandowski. It is always hard to replace one of the top goal scorers in the world, but striker depth is a real issue for this club. When Lewa is healthy, this team can beat anyone.
4. Atletico Madrid
After capturing the La Liga title this year, Diego Simeone’s success at Atletico cannot be denied. When he took the helm as manager in 2011, the club finished seventh in the league the year prior and had not finished top three since 2001-02. Since then, Diego’s Atletico have not finished outside the top five, and only outside the top three once.
5. Paris Saint-Germain
PSG got their revenge on Bayern when they knocked them out of the UCL earlier this year. Bayern was nowhere near full strength without their elite striker, but Paris has also struggled to keep their elite stars, Neymar and Mbappe, on the pitch as well.
6. FC Barcelona
Barcelona find themselves in a precarious situation with Messi trying to leave and recent rumors regarding finding a new manager. Still, this team has made noticeable improvements under Koeman and they still have one of the best players this world has ever seen.
7. Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has this club looking better than they’ve looked in recent years under other legendary managers, but United leaves much to be desired. A recent epic shootout loss in the Europa League Final keeps them lower on this list than they could be, but much credit is deserved for making it that far.
8. Liverpool
Four Premier League clubs make our top ten. That speaks to the level of talent in England right now and we could easily rank this team higher once they get key their two starting centerbacks, Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez, back from injuries.
9. Inter Milan
Inter dominated Serie A all season long, but are in a difficult spot with manager Antonio Conte set to leave after his disappointment in the club’s plans to sell $80 million worth of players. It’s sad that a successful club could face such a financial struggle, but how they handle it will determine a lot about where they end up in our next rankings.
10. Real Madrid
A trip to the UCL semi-finals should not be overlooked, but now Zidane is leaving and the next manager is still unknown. Unlike Inter, money will not be an issue for Madrid. We expect them to get things right and, for that, they sneak into our top ten.
Honorable Mentions: Juventus, RB Leipzig, Dortmund, Ajax, FC Porto