Top 10 Best Central Midfielders In The World 2025

Top 10 Best Central Midfielders In The World 2025

Often being cited as the most important position in football, central midfielders are the key anchors on a pitch, providing a bridge between attack and defence.

When you think of central midfielders a few names come to mind, from Xavi to Andres Iniesta, but the current crop of players are not to bat an eyelid at.

In this list we will be looking at the current best central midfielders in the world of football at the moment. Just to note, we will only be including central midfielders and not attacking and defensive midfielders. You can check out our existing articles on those positions on footballpark.com.

10- Eduardo Camavinga

An often underrated pick when it comes to world-class midfielders, the 22-year-old Frenchman has been a persistent performer for Los Blancos ever since he made the move from Rennes in 2021.

Camavinga is able to connect the defence and attack for Real Madrid, by receiving the ball deep and picking out a perfect pass. He mainly plays the box-to-box role for both Madrid and France and his situational awareness allows him to play through the lines.

He has had some injury issues in the past, but when he is fit and playing, not many are better than him in the central midfield position.

9- Bruno Guimaraes

It is no doubt that Bruno has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League the last few seasons, and has been a key factor in Newcastle's rise to a Champions League calibre club.

He joined Newcastle in January 2022 from Lyon for a reported £40 million fee. There were some doubts if he could make the transition from French to English football but he certainly has flourished.

He mostly operates in a dual midfield role for Newcastle, becoming a hard-hitting defensive midfielder out of possession and an attacking box-to-box midfielder when the Magpies have the ball.

In 158 appearances for Newcastle, he has made 47 goal contributions, a highly impressive stat for a midfielder and a good example of the value he provides. Without a doubt he is one of the best versatile midfielders in the world.

8- Tijjani Reijnders

Reijnders was in the spotlight in his debut for Manchester City recently, as he provided a goal and assist against Wolverhampton Wanderers in August. This was a first taste for many English fans to see the quality that the Dutchman possesses.

His impressive two years at AC Milan prompted Manchester City and Pep Guardiola to acquire Reijnders. His biggest quality is making penetrative passes behind a team's backline to create chances. In the Serie A 2024/25 season Reijnders broke an opposition's defensive line 47 times, more than any other player in that league.

His physical attributes are impressive too, he is able to receive the ball in tight spaces and manoeuvre out of tricky situations. This sort of quality improves the entire team, and this is why we have made the decision to put him in this list.

7- Gavi

Gavi burst onto the scene in the 2021-22 season, when he made his debut for Barcelona at the age of 17. He went on to make 34 appearances in La Liga in that season, an impressive feat considering his age.

Ever since then he has blossomed into a proper Rolls-Royce Barcelona midfielder, one who shows his experience despite his young age. He seems to possess the qualities that Xavi and Iniesta both had when they were playing; high football IQ with technically strong dribbling and passing.

He is possibly underrated at the moment due to Barcelona's lack of European prestige currently, but he fully earns his place on this list. At the age of 21 he could even get better, which is a scary prospect for Barca's La Liga rivals.

6- Frenkie De Jong

Another Barcelona midfielder, De Jong has been a consistent performer for the club ever since he joined from Ajax in 2019.

He often plays as the deepest midfielder for Barca, but is not considered an all-out defensive midfielder. As with many others in this list, he is very versatile. This means he is able to adapt to any situation on the pitch, regardless if it is defensive or attacking.

De Jong is proficient in both passing and carrying the ball, being in the top 90% percentiles for pass completion, progressive passes and progressive carries.

Despite Barca's many managerial changes since De Jong has come into the club, he remains an ever present in their midfield and his impact on their performance make it clear why he is in the top 10 best central midfielders in the world.

5- Nicolo Barella

The Internazionale central midfielder has a small build at 5ft 9in, which is unusual for a player of that position, but the Italian uses this to his advantage.

Barella has been a high performing player in the Serie A for years now and it is no surprise why the Inter fans love him so much. He has a tenacity for winning the ball and when he does he is able to retrieve it and progressi his team up the field.

He has been integral in Inter's successful Champions League campaigns in the last few seasons and truly showed his talent in Euro 2020, as Italy lifted the trophy.

He makes the top 5 of this list purely because he has performed at the highest level for longer compared to others lower down in this list.

4- Declan Rice

Some would argue he is more a defensive midfielder, which was largely true when he was at West Ham United, however Declan Rice can now seemingly do it all after a few years with Arsenal.

He arrived at Arsenal in summer 2023, boasting a fee of around £100 million, a club record fee and ever since then he has been a game changer for the Gunners. He is able to pick up the ball from deep and move it up the field, as well as contribute to multiple attacking plays during the course of a game.

He also has a high football IQ and awareness of the game which it allows him to survey his surroundings which means he rarely loses the ball in the midfield section of the pitch.

He is definitely one of the best central midfielders in the world due to his versatility and reliability, and if Arsenal win the league this season it will reinforce this fact.

3- Alexis Mac Allister

Joining in the summer of 2023 after a 10 goal season with Brighton & Hove Albion, the Argentine has been a prolific chance creator for Liverpool in his three seasons so far.

He has made 28 goal contributions for the Reds in 99 appearances, and has averaged 4.10 shot-creating actions per game in the past year.

Mac Allister has also averaged 3.10 tackles per game in the past 365 days, which should gave you an idea at the pace that he gets up and down the pitch. He is truly a classic box-to-box midfielder who is effective at both attacking and defending.

The reason he is so high up on this list is thanks to his performances in Liverpool's title winning season in 2024/25. He was the heartbeat of the team and arguably just as integral as Mo Salah, with his defence splitting passes and overall calmness on the ball in tense situations. With Liverpool's title defence this season he will remain a crucial player for the Red's and should further cement himself as one of the best central midfielders in the world.

2- Pedri

The 3rd Barca midfielder on this list, Pedri is a no-brainer when it comes to a list of this type.

Starting out in the Segunda Division for Las Palmas, he made his debut at the age of 16, and made his move to Barcelona at 17. Ever since then, he has been a mainstay for Barca and has only had limited playing time when suffering from hamstring injuries.

He leans towards to being a more attacking midfielder as he frequently gets up the pitch to create chances, but his starting position is considered central midfield.

One of Pedri's main attributes is his vision, he can pick out a pass like a needle in a haystack which means he is constantly involved when starting an attack for his team. He has averaged 11.04 progressive passes per game for the past year, which is among the best in the world.

Despite his young age, he has been performing for Barca for many seasons now and still has room for improvement, which is even scary now considering he is already one of the best in the world.

1- Federico Valverde

A somewhat controversial pick for best central midfielder in the world, but in our opinion he can do everything.

He is a midfield magician for Los Blancos, being integral to their quick transition from defence to attack, and was especially impressive under last Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Without Valverde, Madrid wouldn't nearly be as good as they are now, he is a crucial bridge in the middle of the park and completely runs the show. He is also able to do the dirty work, covering for others when out of position and even contributing to goals (32 in total for Real Madrid).

Valverde has won two Champions League's with Real Madrid making him one of the most decorated players in his position. It is no doubt he will win at least another in his career and this makes him the best central midfielder in the world in our opinion.