The top 100 male footballers of 2022 have been ranked - and Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't even make the top 50.

Ronaldo's career veered badly off course following the conclusion of Manchester United's 2021/22 season and the 37-year-old has rarely delivered on the pitch since.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner spent much of the summer trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford, but attracted little interest from clubs around Europe.

Forced to remain at the 'Theatre of Dreams', Ronaldo cut an increasingly frustrated figure as he found himself out of favour with United boss, Erik ten Hag.

That frustration eventually boiled over when he gave an explosive interview to celebrity pal Piers Morgan, in which he blasted the club.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 11: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United smiles during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Old Trafford on September 11, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Ronaldo was released by United shortly afterwards while representing Portugal at the 2022 World Cup.

Following a tournament to forget in Qatar, the former Real Madrid and Juventus man admitted defeat in his quest to remain in European football and agreed a money-spinning move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr.

Having only made his debut for his new club earlier this month, Ronaldo's performances in the Gulf state aren't accounted for in these rankings.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - JANUARY 26: Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr reacts during the Saudi Super Cup Semi-Final match between Al Ittihad and Al Nassr at King Fahd International Stadium on January 26, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

However, it's fair to say that the start of his Saudi career hasn't exactly gone to plan.

READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo thrown under bus by Al-Nassr boss after Saudi Super Cup exit

While Ronaldo's career has faltered badly, his eternal rival Lionel Messi has gone from strength to strength, ultimately being ranked as the best player in the world by The Guardian's panel of 206 judges.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo trails the Paris Saint-Germain superstar by a huge 50 places, sitting all the way back in 51st place. He was ranked eighth in the 2021 list - showing just how far his reputation has fallen.

Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al Nassr v Al Ettifaq - Mrsool Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 22, 2023 Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo walks out before the match REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

You can read more about the panel - which included 10 former international players, as well as ex-Chelsea boss Avram Grant - here.

A massive 76% of responses named Messi as the greatest player on the planet in a year when he finally achieved his dream of winning the World Cup with his beloved Argentina.

You can check out the top 100 in full below.

The top 100 male footballers of 2022 (as ranked by The Guardian)

100. Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica)

99. Gabriel Barbosa (Flamengo)

98. Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich)

97. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

96. Sandro Tonali (AC Milan)

95. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)

94. Reece James (Chelsea)

93. Rodrygo (Real Madrid)

92. Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Flamengo)

91. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

DORTMUND, GERMANY - OCTOBER 08: Manuel Neuer of Bayern München reacts during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München at Signal Iduna Park on October 08, 2022 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

90. Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle)

89. Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona)

88. Declan Rice (West Ham)

87. Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

86. Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)

85. Raphaël Varane (Manchester United)

84. Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

83. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)

82. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool)

81. Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United)

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 30: Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford on October 30, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

80. Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea)

79. Azzedine Ounahi (Angers)

78. Mehdi Taremi (Porto)

77. Fabinho (Liverpool)

76. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)

75. Thiago Silva (Chelsea)

74. Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

73. Nicoló Barella (Inter Milan)

72. Cristian Romero (Tottenham)

71. Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb)

70. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan)

69. Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona)

68. Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan)

67. Éder Militão (Real Madrid)

66. Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

65. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)

64. Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)

63. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea)

62. Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)

61. Richarlison (Tottenham)

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Richarlison of Tottenham in action during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at City Ground on August 28, 2022 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

60. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

59. Luis Díaz (Liverpool)

58. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

57. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

56. Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid)

55. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City)

54. Ederson (Manchester City)

53. Rodri (Manchester City)

52. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)

51. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - JANUARY 03: Al-Nassr's new forward Cristiano Ronaldo greets the fans during his unveiling at the Mrsool Park Stadium on January 3, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

50. Cody Gakpo (Liverpool)

49. Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina)

48. Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)

47. Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)

46. Theo Hernandez (Milan)

45. Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid)

44. Rúben Dias (Manchester City)

43. Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou (Sevilla)

42. David Alaba (Real Madrid)

41. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

MUNICH, GERMANY - JANUARY 24: Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich looks on during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern München and 1. FC Köln at Allianz Arena on January 24, 2023 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

40. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)

39. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)

38. Ángel Di María (Juventus)

37. Gavi (Barcelona)

36. João Cancelo (Manchester City)

35. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)

34. Alisson (Liverpool)

33. Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)

32. Julián Álvarez (Manchester City)

31. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)

DOHA, QATAR - DECEMBER 01: Josko Gvardiol of Croatia reacts during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Croatia and Belgium at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on December 01, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

30. Olivier Giroud (AC Milan)

29. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

28. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

27. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

26. Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

25. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)

24. Phil Foden (Manchester City)

23. Rafael Leão (AC Milan)

22. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

21. Enzo Fernández (Benfica)

Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Benfica v Arouca - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - August 5, 2022 Benfica's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

20. Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa)

19. Pedri (Barcelona)

18. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)

17. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

16. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)

15. Casemiro (Manchester United)

14. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)

13. Harry Kane (Tottenham)

12. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)

11. Sadio Mané (Bayern Munich)

Bayern Munich winger Sadio Mane in action at the Allianz Arena

10. Mo Salah (Liverpool)

9. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

8. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

7. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

6. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

4. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

3. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

2. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

1. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 18: Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Winners' Trophy while holding the adidas Golden Boot award after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Kylian Mbappe finished second in the vote, although he could easily have eclipsed his club colleague Messi had France come out on top in a nail-biting World Cup final.

Real Madrid's 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, Karim Benzema, ranked third overall, while Erling Haaland's blistering form since trading Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City earned him fourth place on the countdown.

The prolific Norwegian is one of 12 City players to feature in the top 100 - making Pep Guardiola's men the side with the most players in the list.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 23: Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City celebrates with the Premier League Trophy as Manchester City are presented with the Trophy as they win the league following the Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium on May 23, 2021 in Manchester, England. A limited number of fans will be allowed into Premier League stadiums as Coronavirus restrictions begin to ease in the UK. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

The seemingly ageless Luka Modric rounds out the top five as one of 11 representatives from Real Madrid.

Messi's triumph marks the sixth time he has been crowned the best player in the world by The Guardian since 2012.

The Argentine superstar will be keen to add to that tally in 2023. Whether former two-time winner Ronaldo features on the countdown at all next time around must now be considered doubtful.

The ultimate football quiz of 2022

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