It’s easy to argue the case for Liverpool being the best team in the world right now.
They’re the reigning Champions League and Club World Cup champions, and are soon to win the Premier League.
Yes, they may have been knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid, but Jurgen Klopp’s side have won it all over the past 12 months.
How could you argue that any other side are better than they are, particularly when some big teams around Europe, including Barcelona and Real Madrid, haven’t performed well domestically?
The coronavirus suspension has put the season on hold, meaning we’re no closer to finding out which team will take the crown of European champions from Liverpool.
But that’s not stopped fans from ranking the best teams in the world right now.
There have been more than 340,000 votes on a list titled, ‘The Best Current Football Teams’ on rankings site Ranker.
We’ve collected the top 50 teams - and it’s bad news for Liverpool…
50. Lyon
49. Botafogo
48. West Ham United
47. Real Betis
46. Burnley
45. Real Sociedad
44. Aston Villa
43. Red Bull Salzburg
42. New York City FC
41. Dynamo Kyiv
The list is off to a very shaky start, with some questionable calls in the top 50.
Aston Villa were playing in the English Championship last season, and we’re not sure what New York City FC have done to earn a place in the top 50 either.
Bear in mind that Lazio, currently second in Serie A, are 63rd in the Ranker list.
40. FC Köln
39. Hamburger SV
38. Atalanta
37. Flamengo
36. Borussia Mönchengladbach
35. Sporting Lisbon
34. CSKA Sofia
33. River Plate
32. Boca Juniors
31. Villarreal
Atalanta will be wondering why they’re not higher on this list.
The Italian side finished third in Serie A last season and are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season after knocking out Valencia in the round-of-16.
They’re just one spot ahead of Hamburger SV, who are in the second division of German football. Madness.
30. FC Basel
29. Santos
28. Eintracht Frankfurt
27. Besiktas
26. Leeds United
25. AS Roma
24. RB Leipzig
23. Rangers
22. Athletic Bilbao
21. AC Milan
Leeds United in 26th?!
This is a side that hasn’t played in the top flight of English football since 2004.
20. Celtic
19. Wolverhampton Wanderers
18. Napoli
17. AS Monaco
16. Leicester City
15. Inter Milan
14. Ajax
13. Tottenham
12. Arsenal
11. Chelsea
The list starts to look a bit more accurate here, although Arsenal are fortunate to be as high as 12th.
Wolves and Leicester City, who have both broken into Europe in recent years, get some love. They deserve to be in the top 20.
10. Manchester United
9. Borussia Dortmund
8. Paris Saint-Germain
7. Atletico Madrid
6. Manchester City
5. Juventus
4. Liverpool
3. Bayern Munich
2. Real Madrid
1. Barcelona
So Barcelona, not Liverpool, take No.1 spot.
That’s hugely controversial, but Ranker’s simple upvote/downvote voting system paves the way for its lists to turn into something like popularity contests.
And so Liverpool, champions of the world, have to settle for fourth place.
Elsewhere, Man United in 10th? That’s very fortunate indeed.