Top 20 dribblers in Europe revealed: Eden Hazard tops the charts but Cristiano Ronaldo fails to make list
Forget Messi and Neymar – Eden Hazard has been revealed as the best dribbler in Europe.
The Chelsea and Belgian midfielder has completed 6.4 successful dribbles per 90 minutes of play this season.
That represents 75% of the dribbles he’s attempted in league matches.
Those figures combined put him top of the CIES Football Observatory index of the top dribblers in Europe’s five biggest leagues – the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, the Premier League and Serie A.
Neymar Jr has completed more dribbles per 90 minutes than any other player in the big five leagues – 7.3.
Hazard shows off his dribbling ability(Image: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)
Ronaldo misses out on the list(Image: AFP)
However, the Brazilian forward has also only completed 62% of his attempted dribbles which means Hazard pips him to the top of the index.
Lionel Messi is in third place having completed 5.5 dribbles per 90 minutes with a success rate of 62%.
Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele is fourth on the list alongside Lyon’s Tanguy Ndombele.
Papu Gomez of Atalanta is sixth, West Ham’s Arthur Masuaku is seventh, while Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina are eighth and ninth respectively.
Here is the top 20 in full…
Messi is known for his dribbling ability(Image: Alex Caparros)
1: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Hazard is officially the best dribbler in Europe(Image: AFP)
2: Neymar (PSG)
Neymar is the most expensive player in the world(Image: REUTERS/Paul Hanna)
3: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Messi prides himself on his close control(Image: REUTERS)
4: Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon)
Ndombele in action for Lyon(Image: AFP)
4= Mousa Dembele (Tottenham)
Mauricio Pochettino likened Dembele to Maradona(Image: AFP)
6: Papu Gomez (Atalanta)
Gomez helped Atalanta though the Europa League group stage(Image: AFP)
7: Arthur Masuaku (West Ham)
Masuaku is currently banned for spitting(Image: Dan Mullan)
8: Sofiane Boufal (Southampton)
Boufal scored a wonder goal earlier this season after a long dribble(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
9: Mario Lemina (Southampton)
Lemina does a lot of dribbling for a central midfielder(Image: AFP)
9= Nabil Fekir (Lyon)
Fekir has netted 19 times this season(Image: REUTERS)
11: Allan Saint-Maximin (Nice)
Saint Maximin in action for Nice(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
12: Andre Carrillo (Watford)
Carrillo has gone under the radar at Watford(Image: REUTERS)
12= Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Pogba is a surprise name on the list(Image: Getty Images Europe)
14: Florian Thauvin (Marseille)
Thauvin battles through tackles
15: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)
Coman is a France international(Image: FC Bayern)
16: Isco (Real Madrid)
Isco has been forced to be patient for game time this season(Image: AFP)
16= Luiz Araujo (Lille)
Araujo playing for Lille(Image: REUTERS)
16= Goncalo Guedes (Valencia)
Guedes is on loan from PSG(Image: Getty Images)
19: Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Zaha celebrates a goal(Image: Reuters)
19= Naby Keita (Leipzig)
Keita is on his way to Liverpool in the summer(Image: AFP)
19= Houssem Aouar (Lyon)
Teenager Aouar is Lyon’s next big thing(Image: AFP)
19= Julian Draxler (PSG)
Draxler has been linked with Liverpool(Image: AFP)
19= Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace)
Loftus-Cheek is on loan from Chelsea(Image: Action Images via Reuters)