The 2025-26 soccer season concluded with major milestones across global competitions, highlighted by Arsenal securing their first Premier League title in more than two decades. In European competition, Paris Saint-Germain claimed their second consecutive UEFA Champions League trophy, establishing their dominance on the continent. On the international stage, Spain captured their second-ever FIFA World Cup by defeating Argentina in the final match of the summer tournament. Ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, ESPN has published the 10th annual edition of its FC 100, which identifies and evaluates the top men's soccer players in the world right now. Rather than using a traditional linear ranking that simply counts down from one to 100, the FC 100 is intentionally structured into seven distinct positional categories. This specific approach aims to evaluate talent across the entire pitch, actively avoiding the common analytical bias that heavily favors goal scorers and attacking playmakers. By providing a position-by-position depth chart, the rankings ensure that talent in less glamorous, yet equally critical defensive and transitional roles receives proper recognition alongside the sport's high-profile forwards. The positional breakdown divides defenders into two specific groups, isolating central defenders from wide fullbacks, as modern tactics demand very different skill sets from each. Midfielders are similarly split into two sections to guarantee that defensive ball-winners get their due recognition alongside attacking playmakers. Forwards are also separated, with wide attackers defined clearly against traditional center forwards. Finally, 10 elite goalkeepers are selected based on modern requirements that demand athleticism, pinpoint passing, and composure on the ball alongside traditional shot-stopping abilities. Paris Saint-Germain dominates the club representation in this year's rankings, placing an impressive 13 players on the list directly following their Champions League success. Arsenal follows closely behind with 10 players, ranging from goalkeeper David Raya to forward Kai Havertz. Manchester City rounds out the top three clubs, featuring Erling Haaland and Marc Guéhi among their nine included players. Notably, midfielder Rodri, who recently transferred from Manchester City to Barcelona, also earned his place on the list. The Premier League maintains its status as the most represented domestic competition globally, contributing 38 players to the top 100. Spain's LaLiga provided 21 nominees, while France's Ligue 1 had 14 players selected. On a national level, France leads all countries with 14 players, including forward Kylian Mbappé and defender Dayot Upamecano, despite Les Bleus not winning the recent World Cup. Spain and England follow with 12 representatives each, while a total of 30 different countries have players on the list, spanning from Mexico and Uruguay to Senegal and Hungary. The 2025-26 list features 32 first-time nominees, highlighting a significant influx of new breakthrough talent reaching the highest level of the sport. At the opposite end of the spectrum, veterans Lionel Messi, now playing for Inter Miami CF, and Robert Lewandowski of the Chicago Fire achieved a historic milestone. Both forwards have been named to the FC 100 for the 10th consecutive year, standing as the only two players to appear in every single edition since the annual ranking began a decade ago. Voters for the FC 100 were given strict guidelines to base their selections primarily on the players' performances during the 2025-26 season, with player club affiliations locked in as of August 15. They were instructed to weigh efforts across domestic leagues, individual club competitions like the Champions League, and the summer's World Cup. The voting criteria emphasized evaluating a player's contribution over the entirety of a 50 to 60 game season, rather than over-indexing purely on a maximum of eight international matches during the summer. Voters also exercised discretion regarding players who missed portions of the season due to injury, allowing stars who performed exceptionally well when healthy to still make the final cut. The heavy presence of Arsenal and Manchester City players in these rankings reflects the exact rivalries that drive weekend viewership across the Horn of Africa. The Premier League and LaLiga remain the most heavily televised and fiercely debated competitions in local cafes across Mogadishu, Hargeisa, and diaspora cities. To follow these specific English and Spanish fixtures, young fans regularly pool money for premium sports satellite packages or purchase expensive mobile data to stream the matches on mid-range Android phones.