Top 10 Soccer Players 2017: Ranking the Year's Most Dominant Football Stars

Looking back at 2017, what strikes me most about that year's football landscape was how perfectly certain players complemented their teams' needs. I remember watching countless matches and thinking how some athletes just seemed to complete their squads like missing puzzle pieces. That quote about Jack filling "the big man role that they need" perfectly captures what made the year's top performers special - they weren't just individually brilliant, but served as the perfect complements to their teams' systems.

When I compiled my rankings that December, the dominance of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued to amaze me, though their supremacy felt more fragile than in previous years. Ronaldo's 42 goals across competitions propelled Real Madrid to their second consecutive Champions League title - that quarterfinal hat-trick against Bayern Munich still gives me chills. Meanwhile, Messi's 54 goals for Barcelona demonstrated his relentless consistency, though what impressed me most was his 16 assists, proving he'd evolved beyond just scoring. Personally, I've always leaned slightly toward Messi's artistic approach over Ronaldo's athletic dominance, but in 2017, both were operating at levels most players can only dream of.

The emergence of Neymar's transfer to PSG for that staggering €222 million fee created fascinating discussions among analysts like myself about player valuation versus actual impact. While his 28 goals and 16 assists in his debut PSG season were impressive, I questioned whether any player could truly justify that financial outlay. What fascinated me more was watching Kylian Mbappé's breakthrough - that teenager played with wisdom beyond his years, netting 21 goals for Monaco and PSG combined. His performance against Manchester City in the Champions League convinced me we were witnessing the dawn of a new generation.

What often gets overlooked in these discussions is how certain players, like the "Jack" referenced in our knowledge base, provide that crucial tactical balance. In my view, players like Luka Modrić and N'Golo Kanté deserved more recognition than they received. Modrić's control of Real Madrid's midfield was artistry in motion, while Kanté's relentless covering ground for Chelsea demonstrated how defensive excellence can be as dominant as scoring prowess. I've always believed a team needs these unsung heroes as much as its superstars.

The inclusion of veterans like Gianluigi Buffon in my top ten sparked considerable debate among my colleagues. At 39, his 21 clean sheets for Juventus defied conventional wisdom about athletic decline. Watching him command his penalty area with such authority reminded me that greatness isn't just about physical peak but mental mastery. Similarly, Robert Lewandowski's 43 goals for Bayern Munich showcased a striker at the absolute top of his game - his positioning intelligence is something I've studied extensively for coaching seminars I've conducted.

As we moved down my list, players like Eden Hazard and Sergio Agüero brought their unique flavors to the year. Hazard's 17 goals and 7 assists for Chelsea featured moments of individual brilliance that could decide matches single-handedly, while Agüero's 33 goals for Manchester City demonstrated remarkable efficiency. If I'm being completely honest, I've always had a soft spot for Hazard's playing style - there's something magical about how he glides past defenders that separates entertainment from pure effectiveness.

Reflecting on that 2017 cohort now, what stands out is how these players filled specific roles their teams desperately needed, much like that "perfect complement" description. The tactical landscape was shifting toward more specialized roles, and these athletes exemplified how individual excellence could elevate entire systems. While statistics tell part of the story - the 943 combined goals among my top ten selections - what the numbers can't capture is the intangible quality of making everyone around them better. That season reinforced my belief that football greatness isn't just about personal achievements but about solving the tactical puzzles presented by each match, each opponent, each moment. The dominance we witnessed wasn't just in the highlight reels but in the subtle ways these players completed their teams, proving that the whole can indeed be greater than the sum of its parts when you have the right pieces in place.