Best football teams in the world 2024

On the contrary, several traditional heavyweights have restored pride in recent seasons, while a cluster of upstarts have threatened to challenge the established order.

We have based our rankings on a host of aspects, including short-term form and medium-term success. Trophies and honours do count towards a club's standing, but context is crucial. Continental performance is often a strong barometer of success when comparing the titans in each nation.

Infrastructure, current squad, manager and overall trajectory have also been considered as we ponder the greatest teams in world football right now.

RadioTimes.com brings you the top 10 best football teams in the world in 2024.

Check our more football features: Best players of all time | Best players in the world 2024 | Best strikers 2024 | Best wingers 2024 | Best midfielders 2024 | Best defenders 2024 | Best goalkeepers 2024 | Best young players 2024

10. Bayer Leverkusen

Nobody saw it coming. Bayer Leverkusen jammed the brakes on Bayern Munich's streak of title wins in extraordinary style with an undefeated Bundesliga campaign that leaked across all competitions – almost.

Leverkusen have finished outside the top six just once in their last 15 seasons, but their 2023/24 campaign took the world by surprise as they romped to the Bundesliga title with 90 points and zero defeats to their name thanks to a penchant for late goals.

Xabi Alonso's men won 28 of their 34 league matches and also went unbeaten across all competitions until defeat at the last hurdle in the Europa League final that would've capped off one of the most remarkable single seasons in European football history.

Of course, Leverkusen must now prove their worth as more than a one-hit wonder to maintain a spot in this list and permanently lodge a spanner in the Bayern Munich works to avoid business as usual flooding back.

9. AC Milan

AC Milan have finished inside the top two in three of their last four Serie A campaigns, plus recorded one title and a fourth-place finish in that time. That's reasonable consistency in an increasingly tight division.

It's hard to overstate the competitiveness of Serie A right now, with Inter, Juventus and Napoli among the top pack, plus tenacious dark horses including Atalanta, Fiorentina, Lazio and Roma.

On the continental scene, Milan recorded a semi-final position in the 2022/23 Champions League campaign and made the quarter-finals of the Europa League last term.

Their squad contains top talents such as Rafael Leao, Theo Hernandez and Youssouf Fofana, while Christian Pulisic has reinvented himself at the San Siro, as well as fellow Chelsea boys Fikayo Tomori, Alvaro Morata, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham.

8. PSG

Ten Ligue 1 titles and 23 domestic cup trophies since 2013 speaks volumes about PSG's dominance over the domestic game. No side has overwhelmed their nation in a top domestic league for such a period of time as PSG have done over the last decade.

The fantasy football all-star trio of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar made a mockery of the French top flight, but that's where our praise for PSG has to end.

Simply, given the resources ploughed into the club, given the box office managers and players who have called Parc des Princes their home, PSG's continental return has been sub-standard.

In the glittering last decade, PSG have failed to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in nine of 12 seasons, while their run to the 2020 final involved relatively favourable match-ups against Atalanta and RB Leipzig.

Now, Messi is gone, Neymar is gone, Mbappé is gone. PSG could benefit from the reset, ironically. But their scary presence has been somewhat diminished.

7. Barcelona

You'd be forgiven for absorbing the near-exclusively negative press swirling around Barcelona and assuming they are a spent force, a giant ready to be tucked in for a long sleep. That simply couldn't be further from the case.

We'll leave discussions of their long-term future and financial state to others, but in terms of on-field action, Barcelona have plenty to feel optimistic about.

Xavi conquered La Liga against the might of Real Madrid in 2022/23, homegrown trio Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Gavi look set to take world football by storm and Robert Lewandowski remains a lethal force.

Boss Hansi Flick has got the side flying in 2024/25, with Raphinha and Dani Olmo among those spearheading the charge. The icing on the cake? The Nou Camp is set to tip over the 100,000-capacity milestone imminently following major renovations.

Barca's European exploits have tailed off since Lionel Messi's departure, but they remain a force to be reckoned with.

6. Inter Milan

The Milanese giants clinched Serie A last term with a flow of silverware starting to gush through the doors of the San Siro. The dark ages of a decade ago are over and they are back to the summit of Italian football.

Inter won the title in 2021, sandwiched either side by second-place finishes, plus third place in 2023, before hoisting the trophy once again in 2024. Add five out of six domestic cups in three seasons to the list and dominance is returning. A Champions League final appearance in 2023 showcased Inter's intentions to return to the forefront of the continental stage too.

They have found consistency and security in the upper echelons of the Italian top flight, something not to be taken for granted given the collapse of Juventus in recent years.

5. Liverpool

Liverpool are certainly one to watch in terms of 2024/25 rankings as the season rumbles on. Jurgen Klopp may have left, but the initial transition was as smooth as could be. Arne Slot's at the wheel.

The Reds have the ability to spend big but not on the same scale as the likes of Manchester City, enhancing the impressiveness of Klopp's past achievements, with a legacy of stars – young and old – stretching into this campaign.

Liverpool have reached three Champions League finals in seven years, they won the Premier League in 2020 and have finished inside the top three in five of the last six years. They also won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in 2022, plus the latter again in 2024. The Reds are going about their business with quiet confidence.

4. Bayern Munich

A run of 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles for Bayern Munich was abruptly ended by Bayer Leverkusen last term. The 'never settle for second-best' attitude of Bayern remained unwavering, however, as they finished the campaign in third place.

Regardless of last season's struggles, Bayern remain a dominant force in Germany. Dortmund and RB Leipzig have tried to overhaul the order in a number of individual seasons but failed to truly make a lasting dent on them. Leverkusen will be hard-pressed to repeat their heroics.

Many could argue, like PSG, that the relative weakness of the league should count against them, but that's where Champions League performance has to play a factor in determining their true strength.

Bayern have reached the semi-finals in 10 of the last 17 campaigns, with four finals and two victories in that time. They reached the knockout rounds in all 16 of those seasons and only lost twice in the Round of 16 stage.

Harry Kane's goal tally continues to sky-rocket while former Crystal Palace man Michael Olise, veteran Thomas Muller and rising megastar Jamal Musiala have all excelled in 2024/25 so far. They remain a heavyweight juggernaught to be wary of.

3. Arsenal

It would be lazy to simply throw Arsenal's name up to the very summit based on just a couple of seasons inside the Premier League top four since 2016, but the Gunners' form started in 2022 and has barely relented since with a youthful team that will continue to grow under Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal's growth under the Spanish gaffer has been nothing short of remarkable, winning almost 60 per cent of his matches in charge of the club since 2019, lifting them from the outskirts of European places into the heart of successive title races, picking up domestic trophies in the process.

Like Liverpool, Arsenal don't boast the spending power of City, but have splashed vast amounts of cash in the right places at the right times.

They boast world class talent throughout the spine of their team, from William Saliba and Gabriel at the back, to Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the heart of midfield, with Bukayo Saka going forward. This team can go toe-to-toe with any team in world football and will only continue to develop positively.

The best thing about Arsenal? This team is here to stay. They don't have the air of a one-hit wonder. Arteta has assembled a terrific squad with years left to develop and establish themselves as one of just two truly elite teams in English football right now.

2. Manchester City

Manchester City brought a European trophy back to the Etihad in 2023 and it finally felt like they had arrived at the top table and earned their feast.

It's hard to raise Manchester City's decade of success without acknowledging Premier League charges that accuse the club of alleged financial rule breaches. The club strongly denies any wrongdoing and the debate will rumble on for months, and potentially years, to come, but for now we will focus on their on-field heroics.

City have won six of the last seven Premier League titles and will be firmly in the hunt for another in 2024/25. They boast the best coach in world football, Pep Guardiola, and several of the best players in the world including Erling Haaland, who is on course to score 7,000,000 goals this season.

It hasn't all gone City's way during their spell of dominance, but we hold them to such a high standard that even brief blips in form are seen as catastrophic crises. City are the dominant force in the most lucrative, highest quality league in world football with relentless evolution of their style set to keep them at the very top for a long time to come.

The only stick to beat City with was their lack of a Champions League trophy in the cabinet, though they were showing clear progress in this area with three consecutive semi-final berths before clinching the trophy in 2023 to secure their status as the team to beat.

1. Real Madrid

For all City's remarkable dominance over the English game, capped off with a Champions League trophy, we can't help but swing back in favour of Spanish giants Real Madrid for the top spot.

Los Blancos remain arguably the toughest draw in European football having won the Champions League trophy an extraordinary seven times since 2014. For context, only six teams have won four or more trophies since the European Cup's inception in 1956.

Jude Bellingham is the hottest young talent in world football, Luka Modric remains imperious in midfield, though his involvement is slowing down, and David Alaba may be the best defender in the world. Young players such as Vinicius Jr, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni will lock in Real Madrid's continued success for years to come.

And then there's Kylian Mbappe. Imagine having a squad like Carlo Ancelotti is blessed with and plugging in the most explosive footballer of a generation into it. He has hit the ground running and it looks exceedingly unlikely anyone will catch them by season's end – domestic and continental.

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