Messi named no.1 while CR7 named 29th

Lionel Messi is the best forward in 2015 – while
Cristiano Ronaldo is only 29th on a list of top
attackers.
These are the findings of a study conducted by the
CIES Football Observatory, which has analysed the
performances of players in Europe’s leading
leagues since January 1.
The rankings take into account relevant statistics
for different positions and find Barcelona's Messi -
who has scored 17 in 12 La Liga games this year -
streets ahead of his Real Madrid rival.
Ronaldo, who has scored six in 11 league matches
in 2015, was, however, ahead of team-mates
Gareth Bale (35th) and Karim Benzema (37th).
Diego Costa is the leading Premier League forward
in fifth place, behind Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben,
Wolfsburg’s Bas Dost and Barcelona’s Luis Suarez.
Elsewhere, the study, which focuses on the Premier
League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the
Bundesliga, found Manchester City’s Gael Clichy to
be the top-ranked full-back and Chelsea’s Eden
Hazard to be the number one attacking midfielder,
ahead of Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and City’s Jesus
Navas.
Former Liverpool loanee Nuri Sahin, now at
Borussia Dortmund, tops the central midfielder table
from the past three months, while Man City’s Martin
Demichelis misses out on the centre-back crown to
Emir Spahic of Bayer Leverkusen.
Top forwards
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
Bas Dost (Wolfsburg)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Diego Costa (Chelsea)

Top attacking midfielders
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
Jesus Navas (Man City)
Kevin de Bruyne (Wolfsburg)
Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund)

Top central midfielders
Nuri Sahin (Dortmund)
Paul Pogba (Juventus)
Fernandinho (Man City)
Lucas Biglia (Lazio)
Ilkay Gundogan (Dortmund)
Top full-backs
Gael Clichy (Man City)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Rafinha (Bayern Munich)
Wendell Nascimento (Bayer Leverkusen)
Pablo Zabaleta (Man City)

Top centre-backs
Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen)
Martin Demichelis (Man City)
Mats Hummels (Dortmund)
Chris Smalling (Man United)
Thiago Silva (PSG)
The full rankings can be found at: http://
www.football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/
wp105_eng.pdf