The 2022/23 football season is about to begin. And here we will look at the 12 best squads in the world, including Liverpool, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, etc.
It’s a matter worth thinking about because this summer’s transfer market has been extremely active, especially for Premier League clubs, which recently surpassed the one billion pound threshold.
Due to their significant investments in elite European talent, clubs like Tottenham and Arsenal have significantly improved on the situation. Much better than they would have been in during the previous campaign.
Before the 2022–2023 football season, we’ve ranked the 12 teams we believe have the strongest rosters. Instead of publishing each club’s whole roster, we have selected the key players and a few assistants who highlight the major areas of each squad’s strength.
Ranking the best squads in the world
12. Arsenal
Arsenal made wise summer investments, as was already mentioned. The addition of Gabriel Jesus from Man City should significantly increase their offensive output.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, a former teammate of the Brazilian, is apparently planning to follow suit and sign with the Gunners. Thus Mikel Arteta may find himself holding a very powerful hand come August.
Goalkeeper: Aaron Ramsdale, Bernd Leno
Defenders: Kieran Tierney, Gabriel, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Hector Bellerin, Nuno Tavares
Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Thomas (Partey), Granit Xhaka
Attackers: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah
11. Inter Milan
Romelu Lukaku has thus been re-signed by Inter on loan from Chelsea, but whose Lukaku are they getting?
Given the state of their roster, you can expect Inter to win the Serie A this season if he can regain the kind of form that saw him score 30 goals (stats via whoscored.com) for the Nerazzurri season before last.
especially considering Juventus’ relative weakness compared to prior campaigns following the sales of Giorgio Chiellini and Matthijs de Ligt.
Goalkeepers: Samir Handanovic, Andre Onana
Defenders: Milan Skriniar, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Mateo Darmian, Dalbert, Denzel Dumfries
Midfielders: Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Robin Gosens, Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Attackers: Joaquin Correa, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko
10. Manchester United
With Erik Ten Hag as their new manager, Manchester United has had a busy transfer window and may have more to come.
Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, and Christian Eriksen all seem like intriguing additions.
You can’t help but believe that they need more, though, to break through that fiercely contested top four. And if they can close that deal, Frenkie de Jong might be the solution.
Goalkeeper: David De Gea
Defenders: Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Alex Telles, Tyrell Malacia
Midfielders: Fred, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, Anthony Elanga
9. Atletico Madrid
Atletico never wants a team full of world-beaters. Instead, they desire tenacious, diligent workers who have a dash of refinement to highlight their efforts.
It goes wonderfully with their “us against the world” mentality, which is exactly what they will have for the 2022–2023 season under Diego Simeone.
Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak
Defenders: Jose Maria Gimenez, Mario Hermoso, Stefan Savic, Renan Lodi
Midfielders: Geoffrey Kondogbia, Alex Witsel, Rodrigo de Paul, Saul Niguez, Koke, Marcos Llorente, Thomas Lemar, Yannick Carrasco
Attackers: Joao Felix, Angel Correa, Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Matheus Cunha
8. Chelsea
Like Man United, Chelsea is now under new ownership. And it seems like they still have some business to do in the transfer market.
Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Kouliaby have been added, replacing some world-class stars like Lukaku who were deadwood.
But as of this writing, they are still without a true striker. And one can’t help but assume that they may have lost their position as England’s third-best club heading into the new season. This is because Jorginho is starting to look like an older player in the middle of the park and there isn’t adequate cover at center-back.
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga
Defenders: Reece James, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher
Attackers: Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic
7. Tottenham
Under Antonio Conte, Spurs appear to be a force. They boast two of the top attackers in the Premier League in Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
Man City and Liverpool may just be cautiously looking over their shoulders at this point. Especially with the new summer acquisitions from other Premier League teams and raids throughout Europe.
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
Defenders: Djed Spence, Jan Vertonghen, Clement Lenglet, Davinson Sanchez, Sergio Reguilon, Matt Doherty
Midfielders: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma, Tanguy Ndombele, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giovanni Lo Celso, Ivan Perisic
Attackers: Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Moura
6. Barcelona
Barcelona’s team may be weighed down by debt totaling almost €1.3 billion. But it doesn’t mean they lack elite footballers.
In fact, we believe it to be the strongest they’ve seemed in a while.
Goalkeepers: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Neto
Defenders: Gerard Pique, Roland Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Sergino Dest
Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Sergio Busquets, Franck Kessie, Nico Gonzalez, Sergi Roberto
Attackers: Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha, Memphis Depay, Ferran Torres
5. Bayern Munich
Losing Lewandowski would undoubtedly be a significant setback for Bayern. But the arrival of Sadio Mane could help the German powerhouses turn things around on the field.
Additionally, they signed promising Dutch players De Ligt and Ryan Gravenberch this transfer window.
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defenders: Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano, Alphonso Davies, Matthijs de Ligt, Lucas Hernandez
Midfielders: Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Ryan Gravenberch, Marcel Sabitzer
Attackers: Sadio Mane, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Kingsley Coman
4. Real Madrid
The defending European Champions once more… Madrid won their 14th European Championship not because they were the world’s finest team, but rather because of their never-say-die mentality. This allowed them to pull triumph from the jaws of defeat.
That being said, their squad is still really excellent. They have been steadily growing over the past few years and are a great combination of youth and experience.
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy
Midfielders: Casemiro, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Lucas Vasquez
Attackers: Karim Benzema, Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio
3. Liverpool
In the six years that Jurgen Klopp has been in charge, Liverpool has gone a very long way.
Alisson Becker to Simon Mignolet. Virgil van Dijk to Mamadou Sakho. From Glen Johnson to Trent Alexander-Arnold, the German has made the Red Machine into one of the best teams the world has ever seen. The team was wallowing in the Europa League positions before the German took over.
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Calvin Ramsay
Midfielders: Fabinho Tavares, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Fabio Carvalho
Attackers: Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino
2. Paris Saint-Germain
Because of Messi, Mbappe, and Neymar’s outstanding front three, the French champs top the podium? Get out of town.
They must be planning to make a strong run at winning the Champions League in the forthcoming campaign.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Keylor Navas
Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendez, Lavyin Kurzawa
Midfielders: Marco Verratti, Rafinha, Giorginio Wijnaldum, Ander Herrera, Julian Draxler, Idrissa Gueye
Attackers: Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Mauro Icardi, Hugo Ekitike
1. Manchester City
Man City and PSG battled it out for the first place. And while we might be able to find a vulnerability in one or two aspects of PSG’s roster, City ultimately proved to be unbeatable all around.
If Erling Haaland can avoid injuries, his signing might be huge. And he might be the final piece they need to win their first Champions League title.
Goalkeeper: Ederson Morales
Defenders: Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Joao Cancelo, Nathan Ake
Midfielders: Rodrigo, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish
Attackers: Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez
