The Guardian released their top 100 male footballers of 2017 today and the battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continues.Neymar - who left Barcelona to escape Messi's shadow in the summer - finds himself in third place on the list.Harry Kane was England's highest representative in fifth and there was only four other England players in the top 100.Kevin de Bruyne was the Premier League's top representative in fourth and judging by his form for the past few months, precious few people would argue with that.Liverpool might be on the rise under Jurgen Klopp, but they still only had three players feature in the Guardian's illustrious list.Sadio Mane weighed in 36th, Philippe Coutinho 24th and Mohamed Salah, fresh off his 21 goals this season sits in 22nd spot as the highest rated Liverpool player by journalists and former players.So where is Roberto Firmino?The Brazilian international has been the glue that keeps Liverpool's attacking talents together and his tireless work, link-up play and defending from the front is a hallmark of a Klopp side.And yet, Jamie Vardy is inside the top 100 at 96. Firmino has even scored one more goal than the Leicester man during the past two seasons.The former Hoffenheim man was 76th on the 2016 list, too.As you can imagine, Liverpool fans are upset with his exclusion and took to Twitter to voice their displeasure.

However, one man who does appreciate Firmino is his boss, Klopp. Following their 5-1 win over Brighton recently, the German lavished praise on his forward.

"Roberto scored twice, but what he did around these goals is what excites me the most, to be honest," said Klopp.

"In all the counter-attacks, pretty much, he won the ball. ‘By being here, by being a little annoying, a little foot, a little toe, that for us is important. Then the ball is go. ‘With all the rest around him, you need to get used to it.

"They are all different and all good. For me, I really like these players. That’s why they are here."